AS  IT  IS  IN  THE 
PHILIPPINES 


^EDGAR  G.  BELLAIR6^ 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Clark  J.  Milliron 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

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MAJOR-GENERAL  ADNA  R.  CHAFFEE,  U.  S.  A. 

Military  Governor  of  the  Philippines,  and  Commanding  General, 

Division  of  the  Philippines. 


AS  IT  IS  IN 

THE    PHILIPPINES 


CV\ar\e^    l2)o.iley\c» 


vae 


BT 


EDGAR  G.  BELLAIRS  ^  p^ 

Correspondent  of  the  Associated  Press,  Cuba,  1898-1900; 
China,  1900-1901:  Philippines,  1901-1902 


<'M. 


doA' 


y^i 


NEW  YORK 

LEWIS,  SCRIBNER  &  CO. 
1902 


Copyright,  190S, 

BY 

EDQAB  G.  BELLAIES. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


DS 


r6 


TO  THE 
OFRCERS  AND  ENLISTED  MEN 

OF    THE 

UNITED  STATES  FORCES,  VOLUNTEERS  akd  REGULARS, 

WHO   SERVED   IN   THE   PHILIPPINES,  WITH   THE   RRM 

CONVICTION  THAT  THE  VIEWS  OF  THE 

LARGE   MAJORITY 

ARE  EXPRESSED  IN  THIS  VOLUMa 


830870 


PREFACE. 

In  writing  the  following  pages,  I  have  been  im- 
pressed with  the  fact  of  how  little  is  really  known 
of  the  situation  in  the  Philippines  in  America 
to-day.  It  is  now  over  a  year  since  the  Civil 
Government  assumed  the  reins  of  office,  and 
most  of  the  conditions  that  were  described  in 
Congress  were  conditions  that  existed  under  the 
military  regime  and  prior  to  the  time  when  Gov- 
ernor Taft  and  his  associates  assumed  charge. 

As  the  chief  correspondent  in  the  Philippines 
of  the  Associated  Press,  I  was  probably  in  a  bet- 
ter position  to  get  at  the  real  facts  as  they  ex- 
isted in  the  provinces  than  anybody  else  in  the 
Archipelago;  better  than  the  civil  authorities, 
for  they  relied  entirely  upon  the  local  governors ; 
better  than  the  military  authorities,  as  their  re- 
ports were  entirely  from  army  officers.  The 
Associated  Press  has  a  number  of  local  corre- 
spondents in  various  parts  of  the  Archipelago, 
and  the  chief  correspondent  in  Manila  is  kept 


vi  Preface. 

well  posted  on  the  daily  happenings  throughout 
the  country. 

The  principal  information  must  be  obtained 
through  a  lengthy  stay  in  Manila,  for  as  Paris 
is  France,  so  is  Manila  the  Philippines.  The  seat 
of  government  is  there ;  the  acts  of  the  Commis- 
sion are  passed  there,  and  the  comments  of  the 
press  are  made  there. 

I  am  especially  indebted  to  the  Manila  Times 
for  editorials  on  the  labor  question,  the  currency 
and  the  constabulary,  portions  of  which  I  have 
used  with  slight  alterations  in  phraseology. 

Edgar  G.  Bellairs. 

Highland  Falls,  N.  Y., 

September,  1902. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  Climate  of  the  Philippines — ^Typhoons, 
Earthquakes,  Plague,  Cholera,  etc. — Governor  Taft 
and  the  Commission  Take  Charge — Taft's  Success 
before  the  Senate  Committee — The  Governorship 
of  the  Archipelago  a  Magnificent  Position — Taft's 
Insincerity — Ability  of  the  Commission — Civil  Gov- 
ernment a  One-Man  Rule — Native  Commissioners,     ii 

CHAPTER  n. 

Civil  versus  Military  Rule — Friction  That  Was 
Bound  to  Occur — Common  Sense  of  ChaflFee  Largely 
Prevented  Open  Rupture — The  Brooks  Habeas  Cor- 
pus Case — Victory  of  Military — Harmonious  Solu- 
tion— Improper  Attitude  of  the  Governor  of  Lej^e — 
Grant  and  Gardener  Hoodwinked  by  Wily  Natives 
— Harmony  Will  Come 24 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Department  of  Public  Instruction — Competent 
and  Incompetent  Teachers — Complaint  That  Presi- 
dentes  Are  Over  American  Teachers — Municipali- 
ties Responsible  for  Payment  of  Native  Teachers — 
Presidente's  Rake-off — Normal  School  in  Zambales 
— The  Great  Success  of  the  Nautical  School  in 
Manila — Devotion  of  Pupils  to  Lieutenant  Com- 
mander  Knapp — Educational   Prospects   Bright....     33 


viii  Contents. 

CHAPTER  IV.  PA« 

Commenceme'nt  of  Civil  Government  Regime — 
Upheld  by  Newspapers  and  Business  Men — Intro- 
duction of  Sedition  Bill  Which  Becomes  Law — The 
"Freedom"  Editorial  upon  Which  Proprietor  and 
Editor  Were  Convicted  of  Sedition  and  Treason — 
Bad  Outlook  for  Newspapers 44 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Customs  House — Phenomenal  Rise  of  the 
Collector,  W.  Morgan  Shuster — Postal  Affairs — 
Good  Work  Done  by  Auditor  Lnvvshe — Excellent 
Results  Accomplished  by  the  Forestry  Bureau  under 
Captain  Aheam — Some  Useless  Bureaus — Provincial 
Governments   53 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Municipality  of  Manila  a  Credit  to  Commission — 
Police  Force  Efficient — Good  Work  of  the  Board  of 
Health — Bilibid  Prison  Becoming  like  an  American 
Penitentiary — Music  on  the  Luneta — Sentiment  Re- 
garding Tearing  Down  of  Walls 63 

CHAPTER  VII. 

System  of  Courts — ^Justices  of  the  Peace — Munici- 
pal Judges — Courts  of  First  Instance — Supreme 
Court — ^Judge  Odlin  Rebukes  Attorney  General  Wil- 
fley — American  Lawyers  before  the  Judges — Ex- 
penses of  Law  Suits  Doubled — Native  Judges  and 
Presidentes    Unfair    73 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Army  in  the  Philippines — Its  Reward  Public 
Ingratitude — General  Wheaton  Attacked — Senator 
Rawlins'  Attack  on  General  Chaffee — Chaffee's  Di- 
plomacy— Colonel  Lee's  Opinion  of  Chaffee — General 
Bell's  Humane  Concentration  Plans — General  Smith, 
a  Conquering  Hero,  Accomplished  with  Little  Blood- 
shed in  Six  Months  What  Spain  Never  Succeeded 
in  Doing — Peaceable  Natives  Favor  Army 83 


Contents.  ix 

CHAPTER  IX.  PAGK 

Major  Gardener's  Report  Asked  for  by  the  Senate 
— The  Report  Itself — Thorough  Investigation  Or- 
dered— Evidence  Proved  Report  a  Complete  Mis- 
statement of  Facts — Gardener  Hoodwinked  by  Na- 
tives from  Beginning  to  End 95 

CHAPTER  X. 
Facts  Concerning  the  Real  Condition  in  the  Prov- 
inces by  a  Former  Civil  Treasurer  of  Nueva  Ecija.  109 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Labor  Problem — Filipinos  Ingenious  in  Ma- 
chinery, Skilful  Workers  in  Cigar  and  Cigarette 
Factories — Absolutely  Unfitted  for  Hard  Manual 
Labor — Break  Down  Quickly  Under  Strain — Im- 
portation of  Chinese  Would  Benefit  all  Classes — 
Contract  Labor  Law  Prevents  Importation  of  Japan- 
ese or  Indians — Labor  Unions  in  America  Do  Not 
Understand  the  Situation — Strikes  Caused  by  Isa- 
bella de  los  Reyes 152 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Currency  Question — Governmental  Salaries 
Nominally  Gold,  Paid  in  Mexican  Silver — Ide  Re- 
fuses to  Make  Fluctuating  Ratio  on  the  Importation 
of  Mexican  Silver  in  Order  to  Keep  the  Ratio  Two 
for  One — Prices  Increased  Enormously — An  Iowa 
Teacher's  Letter  to  Secretary  Shaw — A  Well-Known 
Banker's  View  of  the  Situation — A  Merchant's 
Views    162 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Religion  in  the  Philippines — Work  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A. — Episcopal  Bishop  Appointed — Methodist, 
Presbyterian  and  Christian  Science  Churches — 
Fondness  of  the  Filipinos  for  Display  and  Pomp — 
The  Filipinos  Fond  of  Religion — Fiestas — The  Friar 
Question — Unnecessary  Alarm — Good  and  Bad 
among  Them — In  the  Main  a  Body  of  Christian 


X  Contents. 

Workers  Who  Have  Been  Responsible  for  Bringing 
to  Christianity  the  Filipinos  as  a  Race 179 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Taft  Considers  Chief  Success  of  the  Commission 
the  Judicial  System — He  Thinks  Pick  of  Filipino 
Lawyers  Secured  for  Bench — The  Governor  Excuses 
the  Sedition  Law — Thought  Necessary  to  Control 
American  Editors  in  Manila — Taft's  Defense  of  Law 
Weak — Power  of  the  Commission  and  Judges  Dan- 
gerous to  Liberty — A  Military  Despotism  Under 
Civil  Officials — Filipinos  Detest  Foreigners — Artists 
in   Dissimulation    187 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Business  Outlook  in  the  Philippines — Increase  in 
Number  of  Banks — ^Difficulties  Under  Which  Busi- 
ness Labors — Only  Two  American  Firms  Before 
American  Occupation — Numbers  of  Firms  Success- 
ful— A  Merchant  to  Represent  the  Mercantile  Inter- 
ests of  the  Philippines  When  Congress  Meets — Busi- 
ness Men  Desire  Representation  on  the  Commis- 
sion— Price  of  Meats  and  Other  Food — Transporta- 
tion      196 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Social  Life  in  the  Philippines — The  Clubs  of 
Manila — Captain  Ramsey's  Success  with  the  Army 
and  Navy  Club — Taft  President  of  University — 
Immense  Growth  of  American  Club  in  One  Year — 
To  Build  Magnificent  Quarters — Private  Entertain- 
ing on  a  Large  Scale — Chaffee  Most  Popular  Man 
in  the  Philippines — "The  Brains  of  the  Commission" 
—  Dinner  Organizations  —  Naval  Entertaining  — 
Women  in  the  Tropics — ^Launch  Parties 206 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Who  Are  the  Filipinos? — ^Like  the  Natives  of 
Java — Some  of  the   Facial   Characteristics  of  the 


Contents.  xi 

PAOX 

Japanese — Not  Cowards  in  Action — Treacherous — 
Wanting  in  Gratitude — Untrustworthy — Ignorant — 
Vicious — Immoral — Lazy — Ingenious  but  Tricky — 
Partido  Federal  Really  Dominates  Race — Alexan- 
drino,  Appointed  by  Commission  with  Blood  of 
Americans  Wet  on  His  Hands — Katipunan  Society 
— Possible  Solution  of  the  Illness  of  Taft  and 
Funston    217 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Constabulary  and  Scouts — Native  Forces  and  the 
Work  They  Are  Doing — Active  Against  Ladrones — 
Credit  Due  Captain  H.  T.  Allen — Possible  Amal- 
gamation of  Constabulary  and  Scouts  into  Native 
Army — Commission  Would  Nominate  Allen  for 
Brigadier — Will  Native  Forces  Be  Loyal  in  the  Next 
Insurrection  ? — Probabilities  against  It — Unpleasant 
Forebodings   of   the    Future 228 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Author's  Views — The  Utter  Failure  in  the 
Matter  of  Statesmanship — Governor  Taft  a  Politi- 
cian, not  a  Diplomat — Good  Lawyer  but  Poor  Ex- 
ecutive— Credit  Deserved  for  Minor  Accomplish- 
ments— Insurrection  not  Probable  Before  Five 
Years  239 

CHAPTER  XX. 

A  Stranger  in  Manila  Soon  Desires  to  Return 
Home — No  Sorrow  Felt  at  Leaving — Choice  of 
Routes — Author  Selects  Coldest — Trip  by  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  "Empress  of  Japan" — Hong  Kong — 
Shanghai — Nagasaki —  Kobe — Yokohama — Vancou- 
ver— Salmon  Canneries — Lakes  in  the  Clouds — Mag- 
nificent   Banff — Home 251 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Major  General  Adna  R.  Chaffee,  U.  S.  A.  .Frontispiece 


PAGE 


Headquarters  of  the  Military  Governor i8 

Hon.  William  H.  Taft 36 

The  Escolta,  Manila :    54 

Hon.  Luke  E.  Wright , 68 

Changing  Guard  in  the  Rainy  Season 86 

Major  General  Lloyd  Wheaton,  U.  S.  A 100 

Where  General  Lawton  Was  Killed 1 14 

Hon.  A.  W.  Fergusson 132 

Moving  a  Shack 148 

W.  Morgan  Shuster 166 

Native  Carpenters  at  work 174 

The   Caraboa   190 

E.  F.  O'Brien   220 

BUibid  Prison   246 


AS  IT  IS  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES. 


CHAPTER  T. 


!The  Olmate  of  the  Philippines. — Tjrphoons,  Earth- 
quakes, Plag-e,  Cholera,  etc. — Governor  Taft  and 
the  Commission  Take  Charge. — Taft's  Success  be- 
fore the  Senate  Committee. — The  Governorship  of 
the  Archipelago  a  Magnificent  Position. — Taft's  In- 
sincerity.— Ability  of  the  Commission. — Civil  Gov- 
ernment a  One-Man  Rule. — Native  Commissioners. 

The  Bible  and  all  history  tells  us  that  God 
made  the  world,  and  incidentally,  the  Philippine 
Islands  must  have  been  thrown  in  for  good  meas- 
ure. There  are  places  in  the  world  that  have 
worse  climates,  but  they  can  be  counted  on  the 
fingers  of  one  hand;  Sierra  Lecme  is  one,  and 
where  the  others  are  it  would  be  hard  to  tell. 
Still,  the  Civil  Commission,  with  Governor  Taft 
at  its  head,  with  that  optimism  which  pervades 
jits  every   thought   connected   with  the   Philip- 


12      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

pines,  has  been  led  to  say  that  the  Philippitffes 
are  as  healthy  as  the  healthiest  part  of  America, 
and  they  quote  the  death  rate  among  Europeans 
for  several  years  back  to  prove  their  statements, 
ignoring  the  fact  that  the  class  of  Europeans  that 
has  gone  to  the  Philippines  has  not  been  the 
laboring  class  or  the  very  poor,  but  men  who 
have  gone  out  to  Manila,  Iloilo,  or  some  other 
part  of  the  Archipelago,  representing  large  firms, 
banks,  or  capitalists;  men  who,  when  they  be- 
come seriously  ill,  do  not  hesitate  to  take  the  first 
steamer  for  Europe,  and  if  they  die  through  the 
effects  of  the  Philippine  climate,  their  names  do 
not  appear  on  the  death  register  in  Manila. 

Governor  Taft,  when  he  became  ill,  imme- 
diately pined  for  the  bracing  climate  of  his  na- 
tive Ohio.  As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  get  out 
of  bed,  he  was  placed  on  board  the  first  transport 
homeward  bound.  Commissioner  Ide,  as  soon  as 
he  felt  under  the  weather,  immediately  left  for 
the  mountains  of  Japan,  where  he  stayed  some 
three  or  four  months. 

The  climate  of  Manila  and  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  Archipelago  is  enervating  in  the  extreme. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  see  its  effect  on  European 
and  American  women  and  children  who  have 
been  there  a  year  or  longer,  to  recognize  that 
it  is  an  impossible  place  for  colonization. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       13 

Five  months  of  the  year  typhoons  are  of  fre- 
quent occurrence,  sometimes  doing  great  damage. 
Earthquakes  frequently  enliven  proceedings. 
The  plague,  cholera  and  all  sorts  of  tropical 
diseases  invariably  make  their  way  to  Manila 
as  soon  as  they  appear  in  the  East,  and  all  the 
efforts  and  hard  labor  of  the  health  authorities 
have  failed  to  keep  them  out,  although  the  city 
of  Manila  and  the  other  large  towns  have  been 
cleaned  and  purified  by  American  methods. 

The  object  of  this  volume  is  not  to  criticise 
the  Government,  but  to  show  the  state  of  affairs 
existing  in  Manila  to-day,  and  to  refrain  as  far 
as  possible  from  lending  the  coloring  of  individ- 
ual views  to  the  subject,  certainly  so  far  as  to 
w)hether  the  United  States  of  America  was  wise, 
in  the  first  instance,  in  acquiring  the  islands,  and, 
in  the  second  place,  now  that  phe  has  them, 
whether  it  is  wise  to  retain  them. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  reiterate  the  story  of  the 
destruction  of  the  Spanish  fleet  and  the  practical 
capture  of  Manila  by  Admiral  Dewey,  the  land- 
ing of  General  Merritt,  or  even  the  military  gov- 
ernment presided  over  by  General  Otis,  and  after- 
wards by  General  MacArthur,  but  beginning  from 
the  time  when  Governor  Taft  assumed  the  reins 
of  civil  government  and  General  Chaffee  became 
Division  Commander  with  the  rank  of  Military 


14       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Grovemor,  exercising  authority  over  those  prov- 
inces that  the  civil  government  admitted  not  to  be 
pacified,  though,  at  any  time,  it  was  within  the 
power  of  the  civil  authorities  to  declare  a  prov- 
ince pacified  and  to  take  over  its  control. 

Governor  Taft  had  been  several  months  in 
the  Philippines  as  the  head  of  the  Commission 
when  he  was  called  upon  to  assume  the  reins 
of  government,  at  the  time  when  President  Mc- 
Kinley's  instructions  were  to  establish  a  civil 
government  in  the  Archipelago.  He  was  barely 
four  months  Governor  before  he  was  stricken 
with  sickness  that  afterwards  compelled  him  to 
go  home,  leaving  the  reins  of  government  with 
Acting  Governor  Wright. 

Anybody  who  has  met  Governor  Taft  knows 
him  to  be  a  smiling,  courteous,  suave  gentleman, 
greeting  one  with  a  cordial  handshake  and  cheery 
words,  making  the  caller  think  he  is  the  one  in- 
dividual that  the  Governor  has  been  anxious  to 
meet,  and  one  generally  leaves  his  presence  "on 
very  good  terms  with  oneself."  To  any  one  who 
has  read  the  evidence  of  Governor  Taft  before 
the  Senate  Committee,  or  at  all  events  to  any  one 
familiar  with  the  Philippines,  he  is  stamped  as 
a  politician  of  the  first  water,  and  not  a  single 
Senator  was  able  to  succeed  in  getting  out  of 
Governor  Taft  anything  he  did  not  wish  to  ap- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       15 

pear.  No  one,  it  may  be  said  safely,  more  deeply 
regretted  than  Governor  Taft  that  the  Gardener 
report  was  called  for  by  the  Committee,  as  no 
one  knew  better  than  he  that,  although  the  report 
claimed  that  the  civil  government  was  an  un- 
qualified and  unbounded  success  in  the  Province 
of  Tayabas,  in  reality  but  a  cursory  investigation 
would  have  shown  that  at  the  time  when  the  re- 
port was  wiritten  it  was  a  hot-bed  of  insurrection 
and  discontent.  At  the  time  when  Major  Gar- 
dener, as  civil  Governor,  traveling  from  town  to 
town,  was  received  with  acclaim  by  the  multitude, 
while  brass  bands  thundered  forth  the  "Star 
Spangled  Banner,"  the  insurgent  General  in  com- 
mand usually  knew  every  movement  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  if  he  visited  the  same  place  the  next 
day  was  received  in  an  even  more  enthusiastic 
manner  than  was  Gardener  the  day  before,  and 
Gardener  did  not  even  hear  of  his  having  been  in 
the  neighborhood. 

Governor  Taft  is  an  able  lawyer,  but  wdthout 
the  highest  grade  of  executive  ability;  at  least 
if  he  has  it,  it  has  not  been  developed  in  the 
Philippines.  A  large  number  of  bureaus  have 
been  established,  some  apparently  for  the  purpose 
of  making  salaried  positions.  The  Governor- 
ship of  the  Philippine  Islands  is  an  important 


16       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

and  desirable  position,  a  position  that  any  man 
might  well  be  proud  to  occupy,  with  a  magnifi- 
cent palace  to  live  in  and  an  income  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  a  police  guard  over  his 
house.  Government  yachts  at  his  disposal,  and  the 
cringing,  smiling  fear  of  some  few  millions  of 
natives,  which  is  regarded  by  the  members  of 
the  Commission  as  an  expression  of  love  for 
themselves. 

From  a  social  point  of  view,  the  Governor  fills 
the  position  admirably,  and  the  majority  of  Amer- 
icans in  the  Philippines  who  have  come  in  con- 
tact with  him  admit  that  he  is  a  most  agreeable 
man,  even  if  his  promises  or  his  sincerity  are  not 
certain  to  be  real.  Just  as  Governor  Taft  was 
about  to  leave  for  America  on  the  transport,  and 
as  the  different  people  who  had  come  on  board 
to  bid  him  good-by  were  leaving  the  ship,  Gov- 
ernor Taft  shook  hands  with  a  member  of  the 
Municipal  Board,  and  in  his  cheery  way  wished 
him  well  and  hoped  to  find  him  in  the  same  posi- 
tion or  a  better  one  when  he  returned  from  the 
United  States.  Governor  Taft  himself,  only  two 
days  before,  had  arranged  with  Acting  Governor 
Wright  that  this  man's  resignation  was  to  be 
asked  for,  and  his  successor  had  already  been  ap- 
proached on  the  subject  of  accepting  the  position. 
It  is  barely  possible  that  Governor  Taft  may  have 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       17 

overlooked  a  little  thing  like  a  $4,500  a  year 
position,  and  had  forgotten  that  this  had  been 
arranged,  but  it  is  hardly  probable,  as  for  some 
time  previously  it  had  been  his  intention  to  ask 
for  the  resignation,  the  man  apparently  not  being 
in  accord  with  the  Commission,  having  some 
ideas  of  his  own  as  to  the  government  of  a  big 
city,  instead  of  acting  as  directed  by  the  Commis- 
sion, or,  in  other  w'ords,  Governor  Taft, 

A  few  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  the  author 
in  the  Philippines,  he  received  a  letter  from  a 
newspaper  friend  who  urged  him  to  be  very 
careful  in  dealing  with  Governor  Taft,  for  the 
writer  had  seen  letters  in  which  Taft  had  urged 
that  influence  be  used  to  remove  a  certain  cor- 
respondent from  the  Philippines,  as  he  was  too 
young,  and  had  too  many  friends  among  military 
men ;  while  all  the  time  to  the  man  in  question,  he 
was  saying  that  when  the  time  came  for  him 
to  leave  he  did  not  know  what  the  Commission 
would  do,  and  when  he  did  leave,  gave  him  a 
letter  containing  most  glowing  tributes  to  his 
personality  and  the  work  he  had  done. 

Acting  Governor  Luke  E.  Wright  is  a  type  of 
man  very  different  from  Governor  Taft.  He  is 
a  typical  Southern  gentleman  in  all  that  the  best 
sense  of  that  much  used  term  implies,  a  man 
whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  meet  and  to  do  business 


18       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines/ 

with.  He  has  a  dignified,  courteous  manner,  and 
whether  in  his  office  or  in  his  home  will  invariably 
make  his  caller  at  ease.  Next  to  General  Chaf- 
fee, probably  Governor  Wright  has  been  the  most 
popular  American  who  has  been  in  the  Philippine 
Islands.  While  it  seems  hard  to  say  so  of  a  man 
for  whom  one  has  the  most  unbounded  respect 
and  admiration,  he  certainly  did  not  make  an 
unqualified  success  of  his  administration  as  the 
Acting  Governor  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 
Several  of  the  questions  that  came  up  seemed  to 
swamp  him  along  with  the  rest  of  the  Commis- 
sion, and  left  them  floundering  in  deep  water  try- 
ing to  touch  bottom.  In  fact,  after  Governor 
Taft's  departure,  the  Acting  Governor  and  his 
colleagues  seemed  to  be  in  the  position  defined  by 
a  well-known  lady  in  Manila,  who  is  not  a  great 
admirer  of  the  civil  rule.  "The  Commission," 
she  said,  "reminds  me  of  a  chicken  that  has  had 
its  head  cut  off,  and  has  been  thrown  on  the 
ground,  where  it  flops  around  in  all  directions  be- 
fore it  finally  expires." 

Commissioner  Bernard  Moses  was  a  college 
professor  when  he  was  elevated  to  the  dignity 
of  a  commissionership,  and  the  right  to  a  special 
police  guard  over  his  house,  like  the  rest  of  the 
Commissioners  In  the  pacified  City  of  Manila, 
and  from  all  accounts  by  graduates  from  the  Uni- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       19 

versity  of  California,  with  which  he  was  con- 
nected, he  was  an  admirable  college  professor, 
and  it  seems  a  pity  that  the  profession  of  teach- 
ing should  have  been  robbed  even  temporarily 
of  such  a  valuable  member  in  order  to  make  a 
poor  commissioner.  He  tried  hard  to  earn  the 
$15,000  which  is  the  pay  of  the  Commissioners, 
but  it  is  evident  that  at  times  he  must  have  had 
the  idea  which  ninety  percent  of  the  Americans 
5n  the  Philippines  had,  that  he  was  a  sort  of  fifth 
wheel  to  the  coach  * 

Commissioner  Ide  wlas  at  one  time  a  school 
teacher  and  afterwards  a  lawyer  and  judge.  He 
is  a  man  of  very  dignified  personality,  and  from 
that  point  of  view  lends  a  great  deal  of  pres- 
tige to  the  Commission.  He  is  one  of  those 
who  most  praise  the  climate  of  Manila  and  is 
the  first  to  leave  on  the  approach  of  sickness, 
infinitely  preferring  the  hills,  chrysanthemums 
and  cherry  blossoms  of  Japan  to  the  miasma  and 
the  dengue  fever  of  the  Philippines. 

Last  but  not  least  among  the  American  Com- 
missioners is  the  Hon.  Dean  Worcester.  The  Hon. 
Dean  Worcester  is  a  character,  and  what  he 
does  not  know  about  the  vertebrae  of  a  butter- 
fly, the  habits  of  an  ant  or  the  breeding  of  a 
rooster  is  not  worth  knowing.  He  is  also  an 
expert  on  automobiles,  but  whether  that  con- 

*Since  the  above  was  written  Professor  Moses  has 
resigned  from  the  Commission. 


20       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Btitutes  him  as  exactly  the  man    for    a    Civil 

Commissioner  at  $15,000  per  annum  is  to  be 

doubted. 

■     The  following  is  a  stenographic  report  of  part 

of  a  conversation  at  one  of  the  regular  meet- 

,ings  of  the  Commission: 

"The  derivation  of  this  word  is  extremely 
.difficult,"  began  Professor  Moses.  "I  have  no- 
ticed it  in  the  old  Saxon  statutes,"  interrupted 
Judge  Ide.  "It  would  make  a  good  name  for 
an  automobile  or  a  pet  rooster,"  suggested  Com- 
missioner Worcester.  Governor  Wright:  "Mr. 
Ferguson,  please  translate  these  remarks  for  the 
benefit  of  Commissioners  Legarda  and  Tavera." 

It  seems  to  be  the  general  opinion  among  the 
Americans  in  the  Philippines  that  the  civil  gov- 
ernment was  meant  to  be  practically  a  one-man 
government  under  the  direction  of  the  President 
and  Secretary  of  War,  but  to  have  one  man  in 
absolute  charge  would  savor  too  much  of  mili- 
tarism, so  that  first  of  all  a  strong,  able  man 
was  found  in  the  person  of  Governor  Taft,  a 
man  who  would  carry  out  to  the  letter  the  ideas 
laid  down  in  Washington,  while  it  was  neces- 
sary" to  secure  as  his  associates  some  men  of 
ability,  against  whom  no  possible  objection  could 
be  urged,  men  of  pure  and  irreproachable  char- 
acter and  with  honorable  records,  men  whose 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       21 

views  were  not  antagonistic  to  the  administra- 
tion on  the  Philippine  question  as  laid  down 
for  the  Commission,  and  that  this  was  the  rea- 
son for  the  selection  of  such  men  as  Luke  E. 
Wright,  Dean  Worcester,  H.  C.  Ide  and  Bernard 
Moses. 

Governor  Taft  was  just  such  a  man  as  was 
needed  to  dominate  absolutely  such  a  body  of 
men,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  them  ever 
dissented  from  the  Governor  on  an  important 
question.  The  members  of  the  Commission  are 
honorable  men.  They  stand  well  in  their  own 
communities  and  before  the  country,  but  they 
have  not  shown  that  ability  for  the  management 
of  affairs  in  the  Philippines,  which  should  en- 
title them  to  be  considered  good  administrators, 
their  handling  of  the  financial  question  alone 
stamping  them  as  incapable.  Compare  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Philippine  Archipelago  for  twelve 
months  by  Governor  Taft  and  his  associates,  with 
an  equal  length  of  time  in  Cuba  under  General 
Wood.  The  difference  is  as  great  as  it  is  be- 
tween the  Government  of  Turkey  and  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States.  In  Cuba, 
although  a  nominal  military  head  with 
a  Cuban  Cabinet,  there  was  in  reality  a 
Cfvil  regime,  though  under  a  military  governor. 

On  the  other  hand,   in  the   Philippines,   the 


22       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

regime  has  been,  although  nominally  civil,  a  mili- 
tary, rather  than  a  civil  administration.  Per- 
haps the  best  definition  of  civil  government  in 
the  Philippine  Islands  was  given  by  a  gentle- 
man at  an  amatuer  vaudeville  performance  at 
one  of  the  clubs  in  Manila  last  winter,  when  he 
described  it  in  a  monologue  on  diplomacy  as 
"The  Civil  Bureau  of  the  Military  Government 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  with  headquarters  in 
the  War  Department,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  un- 
der the  war  power  of  the  President." 

There  are  three  native  Commissioners,  Tavera, 
Legarda  and  Luzzuriaga,  who  were  appointed 
apparently  not  so  much  for  any  particular  work 
as  possibly  for  a  sort  of  sop  to  the  Filipinos. 
The  two  former  at  present  occupy  most  of  their 
time  in  libel  suits  against  papers  that  have  ac- 
cused them  of  infamous  acts  before  the  American 
rule.  The  Spanish  editor  of  "Miau"  was  sentenced 
to  a  fine  of  several  hundred  dollars  and  exile  from 
Manila,  at  least  fifty  miles,  for  six  months.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  American  editor  of  the  "Free- 
dom" for  merely  printing  the  evidence  that  was 
given  in  open  court  in  the  "Miau"  case  was  sen- 
tenced to  six  months'  imprisonment  and  $i,ooo 
fine.  It  is  treason  and  sedition  in  the  Philip- 
pines to  utter  a  word  against  the  Commission. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       23 

As  a  former  high  military  officer  in  the  Philip- 
pines said  to  me  recently:  "In  our  time  the 
Americans  in  the  Philippines  thought  that  they 
were  being  chastised  with  rods ;  under  civil  rule 
they  apparently  are  getting  it  with  scorpions." 


CHAPTER    II. 

Civil  versus  Military  Rule. — Friction  That  Was  Bound 
to  Occur. — Common  Sense  of  Chaffee  Largely  Pre- 
vented Open  Rupture. — The  Brooks  Habeas  Cor- 
pus Case. — Victory  of  Military. — Harmonious  Solu- 
tion.— Improper  Attitude  of  the  Governor  of  Leyte. 
— Grant  and  Gardener  Hoodwinked  by  Wily  Na- 
tives.— Harmony  Will  Come. 

When  first  the  civil  government  was  estab- 
lished, the  very  natural  differences  that  were  cer- 
tain to  arise,  began  to  take  place  throughout 
the  Archipelago  between  the  outgoing  military 
officers  and  the  incoming  civil  authorities. 
It  would  have  been  much  better,  if  it  had  been 
possible,  to  have  removed  every  army  officer  from 
the  place  where  he  had  been  in  command  to 
some  other  place  where  he  was  a  stranger.  The 
man  who  gave  up  the  reins  of  power,  frequently 
turned  them  over  to  some  man  he  had  known,  and 
for  whom  he  had  a  certain  amount  of  contempt, 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       25 

both  as  to  experience  and  ability,  and  as  to  his 
educational  attainments.  It  was  certain  that  there 
would  be  a  conflict  of  authority  sooner  or  later. 
The  man  who  had  been  accustomed  to  authority 
and  control  naturally  was  appealed  to  frequently 
by  the  natives  to  decide  some  point.  Sometimes, 
without  thinking  that  he  might  be  encroaching 
on  the  province  of  the  new  regime,  he  adjusted 
these  disputes,  thus  innocently  infringing  on  the 
rights  of  the  Civil  Commission.  On  the  other 
hand,  every  such  infringement  had  the  effect  of 
irritating  the  civil  authorities,  and  in  consequence 
caused  many  appeals  to  Manila.  Of  course,  as 
soon  as  the  case  was  referred  by  Governor  Taft 
or  afterwards  by  Acting  Governor  Wright  to 
General  Chaffee,  the  officer  in  question  invariably 
got  orders  to  confine  himself  absolutely  and  en- 
tirely to  military  affairs  and  it  was  very  certain 
that  the  same  officer  had  not  again  to  be  reproved 
for  the  same  offense. 

Such  cases  came  up  day  after  day  with  the 
greatest  regularity  at  the  commencement  of  the 
civil  rule,  leading  the  majority  of  the  civilians 
in  Manila  and  even  in  the  provinces  to  believe 
that  there  was  an  organized  attempt  on  the  part 
cf  the  military  to  belittle  the  civil  authorities, 
and  in  consequence  a  considerable  amount  of  an- 
tagonism was  aroused,  and  in  many  instances 


26       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

a  feeling  of  dislike  was  engendered  between  men 
who,  on  other  occasions,  would  have  been  very 
good  friends.  It  also  had  the  effect  of  making 
the  civil  officials  very  harsh  in  their  judgment  of 
even  the  slightest  misdeed  of  a  soldier.  A  single 
soldier  drunk  on  Beno  would  be  regarded  as  an 
excuse  for  a  general  attack  on  the  army,  as  a 
lot  of  drunken,  worthless  scoundrels  whose  main 
occupation  in  life  was  to  worry  the  civil  author- 
ities. 

Had  the  civil  authorities  recognized  the  fact 
that  what  had  occurred  at  the  commencement 
was  a  logical  sequence  of  the  transfer  of  author- 
ity where  the  civil  and  military  functions  were 
not  clearly  defined,  all  would  have  been  well,  but 
instead  of  doing  this,  they  acted,  as  a  rule,  when 
finding  themselves  sustained,  with  haughty  ar- 
rogance and  insufferable  conceit,  frequently  an- 
tagonizing the  natives  against  the  army  and  send- 
ing around,  for  signature,  petitions  condemning 
the  army  and  lauding  the  civil  rule,  although 
the  natives  had  not  even  realized  that  any  change 
had  taken  place  beyond  the  fact  that  some  other 
American  had  supplanted  the  one  previously  in 
power. 

In  Manila,  General  Chaffee  in  every  possible 
way  subordinated  the  military  to  the  civil  govern- 
ment, frequently,  in  the  opinion  of  some  of  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       27 

highest  ranking  officers  in  the  Archipelago,  going 
beyond  what  they  considered  right  or  what  they 
thought  was  required  by  the  President  and  the 
Secretary  of  War.  On  only  one  occasion  was 
there  any  serious  conflict  of  authority,  and  in 
this  case.  General  Chaffee  was  so  unquestionably 
right  that,  with  a  desire  to  uphold  the  civil  au- 
thorities, the  Administration  in  Washington  had 
to  tell  Governor  Taft  that  he  was  in  the  wrong 
and  to  instruct  both  the  civil  and  the  military 
Governors  to  come  to  some  harmonious  solution 
of  the  question. 

The  case  in  question  was  that  of  a  man  named 
Brooks,  who  was  discharged  by  favor  from  the 
army  to  accept  a  position  under  the  military  gov- 
ernment under  the  Adjutant  General,  agreeing, 
in  consideration  of  his  discharge,  to  serve  the 
Government  at  a  stated  rate  of  pay  for  twt)  years, 
which  gave  him  five  or  six  times  as  much  as  he 
was  receiving  as  a  soldier  for  the  same  work. 
Brooks  got  an  offer  from  some  firm  in  Manila 
very  shortly  after  his  discharge,  which  paid  him 
a  little  more  than  he  was  getting  from  the  mili- 
tary. He  left  his  position,  and  his  arrest  by  the 
military  authorities  followed.  General  Chaffee 
decided  not  to  try  the  man  by  court  martial  but 
simply  to  put  him  on  a  transport  and  deport  him 
home,  considering  that  sufficient  punishment.    A 


28       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

lawyer  took  the  case  up  on  behalf  of  Brooks  and 
applied  to  a  Supreme  Court  judge  for  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus.  The  Sheriff  presented  the  writ 
to  General  McKibben,  the  commander  of  the  post 
of  Manila,  who  took  it  to  General  Chaffee ;  after 
a  conference  it  was  decided  that  Brooks  should 
be  brought  ashore  from  the  transport,  but  that 
he  should  not  be  presented  in  court.  General 
McKibben  and  Colonel  Grosbeck,  the  Judge  Ad- 
vocate General,  answered  the  writ. 

The  claim  put  forward  by  the  Judge  Advocate 
was  that  Brooks  was  a  military  prisoner,  and 
as  such  subject  to  the  military,  who  did  not 
recognize  the  right  of  the  Court,  as  constituted, 
to  issue  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  for  such  a  per- 
son. No  court  in  the  United  States  has  any  such 
power  excepting  Federal  Courts,  and  as  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  Philippines  had  not  been 
vested  with  any  such  authority,  either  by  Con- 
gress or  through  the  military  power  of  the  Presi- 
dent, the  man  would  not  be  produced. 

The  Commission  naturally  was  indignant  at 
the  action  of  the  military  authority  in  this  case, 
and  the  wires  were  kept  busy  between  Manila  and 
Washington  on  the  question  as  to  the  right  of 
the  matter.  Members  of  the  Commission  talked 
to  representatives  of  the  press,  and  expressed 
themselves  very  strongly,  which  made  a  harmoni- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       29 

ous  solution  difficult,  but  it  was  well-known  that 
the  victory  was  completely  with  the  army.  The 
Governor  and  General  Chaffee  had  frequent  con- 
sultations and  it  was  finally  decided  to  define  the 
exact  relations  concerning  matters  between  the 
civil  and  the  military.  General  Chaffee  agreed 
to  produce  Brooks,  to  use  a  Chinese  expression, 
"to  save  the  face  of  the  civil  authorities,"  and  the 
Governor  agreed  that  in  future,  in  any  case  where 
a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  issued  for  a  military 
prisoner  the  Judge  Advocate  General  appearing 
in  court  and  stating  that  the  individual  was  a 
military  prisoner,  would  be  sufficient  answer  and 
the  rights  of  the  Military  would  be  respected. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  worst  features  of  the  civil 
versus  military  dispute  was  the  attitude  of  the 
Governor  of  Leyte,  adjoining  the  Island  of  Sa- 
mar,  who  persisted  in  maintaining  that  his  dis- 
trict was  absolutely  pacified  and  quiet  notwith- 
standing the  well  established  fact  that  it  was  a 
hot-bed  of  insurrection  and  a  camp  and  resting 
place  for  the  Insurrectos  of  Samar,  but  a  stone's 
throw  away. 

After  seeing  their  mutilated  dead  at  Balangigi 
and  the  dreadful  atrocities  perpetrated  on  the 
dead  bodies;  after  having  seen  numberless  acts 
of  treachery  in  other  parts  of  Samar,  it  was 
no  wonder  that  the  temper  of  the  American 


30       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

soldiers,  both  officers  and  privates,  brooked  but 
little  interference  on  the  part  of  the  civil  au- 
thorities in  Leyte,  for  they  knew  that  not  only 
was  it  the  abiding  place  of  a  population,  ninety- 
five  percent  of  whom  were  antagonistic  to  Amer- 
ican rule,  but  that  a  large  number  were  actually 
engaged  in  furnishing  supplies  and  even  arms 
to  their  comrades  in  the  Island  of  Samar,  and 
also  that  the  Insurrectos  of  Samar  were  making 
the  Province  of  Leyte  a  resting  place  and  recu- 
perating post. 

Governor  Grant  of  Leyte,  for  some  reason 
best  known  to  himself,  refused  to  admit  the  pal- 
pable situation  in  his  province,  and  sent  glowing 
reports  of  the  loyalty  and  good  feeling  of  the 
natives.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  he  was 
largely  hoodwinked  by  the  natives  who  sur- 
rounded him,  and  who  gave  him  the  information 
that  they  knew  would  please  him.  It  was  this 
sort  of  information  that  was  given  to  Governor 
Gardener,  of  Tayabas,  by  the  native  officials,  all 
of  whom,  it  was  afterwards  proved,  were  giving 
information  to  the  insurgents.  They  assured 
Major  Gardener  that  not  an  Tnsurrecto  was  left 
in  the  province,  while  the  testimony  afterwards 
given  by  two  of  the  insurgent  Generals,  proved 
that  Tayabas  at  that  time  was  the  best  disciplined 
and  most  loyal  of  any  province  to  the  Insur- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       31 

rection.  Governor  Grant  did  not  have  the  same 
excuse  as  did  Governor  Gardener.  However,  the 
fact  was  evident  that  the  natives  of  Leyte  were 
disloyal  from  the  number  of  murders  of  Amer- 
icans and  Americanistas. 

It  will  probably  be  some  time  before  absolutely 
and  completely  harmonious  relations  exist  be- 
tween the  civil  and  the  military  authorities  all 
over  the  Archipelago.  The  civil  officials  will  not 
soon  forget  what  they  look  upon  as  the  con- 
tempt of  the  army  officers  for  themselves  and 
their  positions,  while  the  army  officers  will  cer- 
tainly feel  the  suspicion  of  enmity  in  the  air  and 
are  not  likely  to  go  far  out  of  their  way  to 
bring  matters  to  a  more  harmonious  understand- 
ing, and  consequently  very  little  communication, 
for  the  present,  will  take  place  between  them. 
But  eventually,  as  men  are  changed  about,  both 
in  civil  and  military  positions,  the  situa- 
tion will  develop  a  feeling,  where  mutual  com- 
mon sense  will  bring  those  living  in  close  prox- 
imity to  a  better  understanding,  both  working 
for  the  same  end,  the  uplifting  of  the  Philip- 
pines and  the  credit  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

In  Manila,  to  General  Chaffee,  and  largely  to 
General  Chaffee  alone,  is  due  the  credit  that 
serious  friction  has  not  occurred,  as  he  has  gone 


32       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

out  of  his  way  on  many  occasions,  not  only  by 
actions  but  by  words,  to  prove  his  complete  sin- 
cerity in  subordinating  the  military  to  the  civil. 
Few  men  could  have  succeeded  as  admirably  as 
he  has  done,  not  only  in  gaining  the  confidence  of 
the  members  of  the  Commission  who  imagine 
that  they  see  an  insult  in  every  act  or  word  of 
the  military,  but  also,  by  his  own  example,  and 
by  his  orders  to  leading  officers  of  the  army  to  act 
in  complete  accord  with  the  civil  authorities  with 
whom  they  come  in  contact. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Department  of  Public  Instruction. — Competent  and 
Incompetent  Teachers. — Complaints  that  Presidentes 
Are  over  American  Teachers. — Municipalities  Re- 
sponsible for  Payment  of  Native  Teachers. — Presi- 
dente's  Rake-oflF. — Normal  School  in  Zambales. — 
The  Great  Success  of  the  Nautical  School  in  Manila. 
— Devotion  of  Pupils  to  Lieutenant  Commander 
Knapp. — Educational  Prospects  Bright 

The  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  F.  W.  Atkinson,  has  made 
an  admirable  attempt  to  Americanize  and  civ- 
ilize the  Islands  by  means  of  the  teaching  of 
the  English  language  to  all  the  children  and  to 
those  of  their  elders  who  wish  to  learn  it. 

This  was  a  most  excellent  idea,  and  no  one  was 
probably  better  fitted  than  was  Dr.  Atkinson  for 
the  carrying  out  of  this  plan.  One  thousand 
teachers  were  brought  from  the  United  States 
on  Government  transports.  Most  of  them  as- 
serted that  they  did  not  come  for  the  salary,  but 
as  educational  missionaries  to  elevate  the  Fili- 


34       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

pinos  to  the  level  of  the  civilized  and  educated. 
A  very  large  proportion  of  these  teachers  were 
earnest,  willing,  efficient  and  kind  men  and  wom- 
en who  have  endeavored  conscientiously  to  do 
their  duty  and  carry  out  their  original  idea.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  were  some  who  came  out 
tinder  contract  as  teachers,  but  with  no  inten- 
tion whatever  of  remaining  in  their  ranks.  They 
are  on  the  outlook  for  business  opportunities  or 
for  any  means  whereby  money  can  be  made. 
Many  of  them  have  found  nothing  else  to  do  and 
have  continued  as  teachers  and  have  brought 
more  or  less  discredit  on  the  entire  organization, 
which  is  very  unfair,  for  the  work  which  has  been 
accomplished  as  a  whole  has  been  excellent. 

The  Educational  Department  unfortunately 
was  organized  in  rather  a  loose  manner  under 
Law  No.  74,  which  compels  the  defeat  of  many 
of  the  objects  striven  for.  Education  was  not 
made  compulsory.  American  teachers  were  not 
given  enough  power.  They  were  only  special 
teachers  of  English  and  in  many  cases  the  native 
teacher,  with  but  a  slight  smattering  of  read- 
ing and  writing,  was  the  real  head  of  the  school. 
Another  of  the  principal  complaints  was  that 
the  American  teacher  was  subordinated  to  the 
native  Presidente  or  Mayor  of  the  town  where 
the  teacher  was  stationed.    It  is  difficult,  how- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       35 

ever,  to  see  how  the  Commission  could  have  made 
any  other  rule.  In  addition  the  act  provided  that 
municipalities  should  sustain  schools  but  fixed 
no  penalty  for  noncompliance. 

The  islands  were  divided  into  several  divi- 
sions, some  twenty  in  all,  each  of  which  had  a 
superintendent.  With  the  exception  of  three 
temporary  superintendents  who  were  appointed 
from  the  army,  soon  rejoining  that  service,  these 
$uperintendents  were  all  men  from  the  United 
States,  and  almost  without  exception  unable  to 
speak  Spanish,  much  less  the  local  vernacular. 
This  was  a  great  hindrance  to  them  and  the 
teachers  were  in  the  same  position.  The  super- 
intendents were  also  given  power  to  appoint  na- 
tive teachers  and  to  fix  their  salaries,  but  the 
towns  were  to  pay  each  teacher,  with  no  penalty 
for  non-payment.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  native 
teachers  have  generally  received  what  the  local 
town  council  saw  fit  to  pay.  The  rake-off  to 
the  Presidente  is  generally  ten  percent.  A  na- 
tive school  board,  usually  worthless  for  work, 
was  also  ordered  for  each  town. 

Under  the  Spanish  law  of  1892,  the  native 
teachers  received  their  pay  from  the  province 
in  which  they  were  stationed.  Considering  the 
higher  prices  of  everything  at  present,  it  was  a 
better  arrangement  than  the  local  town  system. 


36      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

The  schools  have  not  been  attended  by  the  chil- 
dren of  the  lower  classes  as  much  as  was  ex- 
pected, mainly  from  the  fact  that  the  higher 
classes  rule  and  advise  them  as  much  as  in  Span- 
ish days  and  it  can  be  said  that  until  Americans 
learn  the  native  tongue,  so  that  they  can  talk 
to  the  lower  classes  freely,  just  so  long  will 
the  belauded  self-government  they  enjoy  to-day 
be  the  narrow  and  selfish  rule  of  a  Malay  oli- 
garchy, founded  not  on  nobility  or  education,  but 
merely  upon  wealth,  arrogance  and  snobbishness. 

The  oligarchy  can  and  does  communicate  by 
means  of  Spanish  all  over  the  islands.  The  poor 
class  does  not  read  or  write  its  own  dialects,  but 
under  the  law  this  poor  class  has  no  share  in 
the  government  of  the  schools;  neither  has  the 
resident  American.  It  has  been  handed  over  to 
the  Tagalog  or  Bicol  or  Visayan  or  Ilocano 
"principal"  who  in  ninety-five  cases  out  of  a  hun- 
dred is  an  insurgent  at  heart,  and  who  is  rivet- 
ing the  chains  still  tighter  upon  the  lower  classes. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  men  with  their  fifteen  hundred  retainers 
control  the  movements,  work,  ideas  and  destinies 
of  all  the  members  of  the  so-called  Qiristian 
tribes.  And  the  policy  pursued  is  not  loosening 
their  grasp  but  is  helping  to  increase  its  strength. 

Details  have  not  been  worked  out  as  finely  as 


HON.    WILLIAM     H.    TAFT. 
Governor  of  the  Philippines. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      37 

they  might  or  should  have  been  in  school  matters, 
and  a  true  esprit  de  corps  can  hardly  be  said  to 
exist.  Teachers  have  been  sent  to  remote  towns 
to  do  work  without  adequate  encouragement 
or  support.  Formal  circulars  a  month  old  are 
not  very  sustaining  even  as  far  as  they  go. 

Dr.  Atkinson  has  been  indefatigable  in  his  ef- 
forts, and  Normal  Schools  were  established  in  the 
summer  in  several  places,  though  cholera  unfor- 
tunately interfered  in  some.  As  an  instance  of 
the  success  that  has  attended  these  schools,  the 
following  letter  from  a  teacher  from  Iba,  Zam- 
bales,  under  date  of  June  25th,  will  probably 
give  as  good  an  idea  of  the  work  as  anything 
that  could  be  written  at  present  on  the  subject : 

"The  first  school  opening  in  Zambales  province 
took  place  at  Iba,  on  i6th  June.  The  work 
is  well  organized  and  is  running  smoothly,  and 
shows  plainly  that  the  principal,  Departmental 
Superintendent  C.  E.  Putnam,  has  done  some 
hard  work  and  earnest  thinking  along  the  right 
lines.  The  school  has  many  excellent  features 
and  cannot  but  help  the  earnest  young  people 
mentally  and  morally,  now  and  through  the  com- 
ing years.  There  is  a  pleasing  atmosphere  of 
comradeship  and  helpfulness  about  the  work,  es- 
pecially during  the  hours  of  study  and  opening 


38      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

exercises.  In  the  morning  all  the  pupils  and 
teachers  meet  together  in  an  assembly  hall  made 
by  driping  the  partition  between  two  of  the 
school  rooms.  Songs  are  sung  by  the  school  and 
an  informal  talk  given  by  some  of  the  American 
teachers.  The  first  morning,  Governor  Poten- 
ciano  Lesaca  welcomed  all  with  a  pleasing  ad- 
dress in  which  he  told  the  pupils  of  the  great 
educational  plan  and  of  the  advantages  to  be  de- 
rived from  this  normal  school  work.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Don  Juan  Manday,  Provincial  Fiscal, 
who  also  congratulated  the  students  upon  the  edu- 
cational advantages  they  were  about  to  enjoy. 

"There  are  more  than  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight  pupils  representing  the  towns  of  Bolinao, 
Alaminos,  Agno,  Dasol,  Santa  Cruz,  Masinloc, 
Candelaria,  Palawig,  Iba,  Botolan,  Boni,  Caban- 
gan,  San  Felipe,  San  Antonio,  San  Mar- 
celino  Castillejos,  Subig  and  Olongapo.  Out- 
side of  Iba,  the  largest  delegations  come  from 
San  Marcelino,  San  Narciso  Agno  and  Botolan. 
Throughout  the  Province,  in  towns  where  Amer- 
ican teachers  have  been  stationed,  the  advance- 
ment of  both  native  teachers  and  pupils  is  very 
apparent. 

"So  much  has  been  accomplished  by  the  few 
teachers  who  have  worked  in  this  province,  that 
it  is  greatly  regretted  that  there  are  not  enough 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      39 

American  teachers  for  every  deserving  town  to 
have  one.  The  schedule  of  work  includes  the 
ordinary  school  curriculum,  as  well  as  music  and 
free  hand  drawing.  The  music  is  under  the  di- 
rection of  Miss  Kelshaw,  and  the  young  people 
seem  to  be  thoroughly  enjoying  it.  The  classes 
are  held  in  a  chapel  a  short  distance  from  the 
school  building,  where  scholars  sing  to  their 
heart's  content  without  interfering  with  their  les- 
sons. A  comfortable  new  six-room  building  was 
opened  for  the  Normal  School,  and  to  have  this 
building  completed  in  time,  the  people  have 
worked  hard.  They  may  be  justly  proud  of  their 
efforts,  for  they  now  have  the  finest  building  in 
the  Province,  well  lighted,  fitted  with  American 
desks,  together  with  a  good  supply  of  black- 
boards. 

"A  feature  of  the  normal  work  that  is  designed 
to  be  especially  helpful  to  the  native  teachers, 
is  a  model  class  of  children  between  the  ages 
of  ten  and  twelve,  conducted  as  much  as  possible 
on  the  principles  of  an  American  school.  Here 
the  native  teachers  are  sent  to  observe  and  ab- 
sorb as  much  as  possible  of  the  true  spirit  and 
atmosphere  of  an  American  school  room. 

"The  work  along  all  lines  has  commenced  in 
a  satisfactory  manner.  Both  teachers  and  pupils 
seem  thoroughly  in  earnest  and  the  school  prom- 


40      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ises  to  be  very  successful.  A  flag  raising  has 
been  planned  to  take  place  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
when  suitable  exercises,  accompanied  by  songs 
appropriate  for  the  occasion,  will  be  rendered. 
The  different  towns  in  this  district  will  be  repre- 
sented." 

Probably  one  of  the  most  useful  acquisitions 
that  has  descended  from  Spain  as  a  legacy 
to  the  American  administration  is  the  Nautical 
School,  which  was  under  the  direction  first  of 
Lieutenant  Commander  V.  L.  Cottman,  U.S.N., 
and  later,  since  April,  1901,  of  Lieutenant  Com- 
mander John  J.  Knapp,  U.S.N.  This  school  has 
made  great  improvements,  and  is  a  credit  not 
only  to  the  two  gentlemen  who  have  managed  it 
from  the  time  when  it  became  an  American  in- 
stitution to  the  present,  but  also  to  the  Educa- 
tional Department  and  to  the  Commission  itself. 

During  Spanish  times,  the  school  was  located 
in  the  Walled  City,  but  when  it  was  reopened  by 
the  Americans,  quarters  were  assigned  in  Calle 
Santa  Elena,  Quartel  Meisic,  where  the  school  is 
at  present  located.  All  instruction,  except  that 
in  English,  was  in  the  Spanish  language.  At 
present  all  instruction  is  in  English.  This  change 
was  made  by  Lieutenant  Commander  Knapp,  as 
soon  as  he  took  charge,  and    its    success    has 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       41 

been  absolute  and  complete.  There  are  no  Filipino 
boys  speaking  better  English  than  those  who  have 
been  at  the  Nautical  School.  On  the  occasion  of 
the  graduating  exercises  last  spring,  addresses  in 
the  English  language  were  admirably  made  by 
several  of  the  pupils,  astonishing  even  those  who 
had  the  greatest  confidence  in  the  development 
of  the  Filipinos  by  education. 

The  corps  of  instructors  assisting  the  Superin- 
tendent now  consists  of  four  American  teachers 
and  one  of  the  former  native  teachers.  The 
latter's  services  will  be  dispensed  with,  as  soon  as 
another  officer  of  the  Navy  can  be  detailed  as 
an  instructor  in  technical  branches. 

With  the  change  in  the  method  of  instruction, 
has  also  come  a  change  in  the  subjects  of  in- 
struction. The  course  is  being  developed  as  rap- 
idly as  practicable  to  correspond  with  that  of 
the  United  States  Naval  Academy,  at  Annapolis,, 
with  the  exception  of  the  military  training,  which 
it  is  not  deemed  advisable  to  institute  at  present. 

Owing  to  a  lack  of  .primary  instruction  in  the 
Islands,  the  nautical  cadets,  when  they  begin 
their  course,  are  very  poorly  grounded  in  the 
subjects  of  primary  education.  This  has  made 
it  necessary  to  crowd  into  four  years,  everything 
from  the  beginning  of  arithmetic,  to  plane  and 
spherical  trigonometry.       What  is  true  of  the 


42      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

course  of  mathematics,  applies  equally  to  other 
branches.  Not  only  has  the  lack  of  primary 
training  been  an  obstacle,  but  it  has  also  been 
necessary  to  overcome  the  effects  of  the  former 
bad  system  of  training.  This  is  particularly  the 
case  in  mathematics,  in  which  study  the  method 
has  been  that  of  memorizing,  rather  than  of  rea- 
soning. In  spite  of  these  obstacles,  success  has 
been  achieved,  and  the  graduates  of  the  past 
year  read  and  speak  English  with  a  fair  degree 
of  fluency,  and  accredit  themselves  well  in 
their  navigation  work,  theoretically  as  well  as 
practically. 

Though  it  has  been  desired  to  give  these  young 
men  a  technical  education,  the  principal  aim  has 
been  to  imbue  them  with  American  ideas,  and  as 
the  school  draws  its  pupils  from  the  various  parts 
of  the  Islands,  it  is  believed  that  this  effort  to 
Americanize  the  pupils  will  have  an  effect  gen- 
erally throughout  the  Islands. 

To  achieve  the  best  results,  the  school  should 
have  more  ample  quarters,  where  the  students 
could  be  housed  and  fed,  where  machine  shops, 
gymnasiums,  laboratories  and  quarters  could 
be  located.  At  present,  the  cadets  are  living 
in  various  places  about  Manila,  and  the  school 
has  little  control  of  their  personal  habits  or  their 
studies  when  away  from  the  school  itself. 

Recommendations  embodying  these  ideas,  have 


As  It  Is  in  thd  Philippines.      43 

been  made  by  Lieutenant  Commander  Knapp, 
and  are  being  considered  at  the  present  time 
by  the  Department  of  Education. 

There  is  also  urgent  need  of  a  training  ship. 
The  only  practical  work  the  cadets  get  in  sea- 
manship now,  is  that  afforded  by  a  mast,  yards, 
and  accompanying  sails  rigged  in  the  yard  of 
the  school  building. 

I  have  talked  with  many  of  the  boys  of  the 
Nautical  School,  and  have  been  astonished  to 
find  the  extreme  loyalty  and  devotion  with  which 
they  regard  their  Superintendent,  Lieutenant 
Commander  J.  J.  Knapp,  U.S.N.,  whose  work 
has  been  admirable  in  the  extreme.  When 
the  day  comes  for  him  to  take  his  departure, 
his  place  will  be  very  hard  to  fill. 

The  future  of  education  in  the  Philippines 
looks  bright,  especially  if  some  changes  were  to 
be  made,  such  as  giving  the  native  teachers  a 
certain  length  of  time  in  which  to  graduate  and 
pass  a  standard  of  education,  of  which  English 
should  be  the  most  important  feature,  as  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Orient,  through  China,  Japan  and 
practically  everywhere,  for  business  purposes,  is 
English.  The  great  majority  of  the  natives  of 
the  Philippines  do  not  even  understand 
Spanish,  their  own  dialect  being  all  they 
can  speak.  It  is  impossible,  under  such  circum- 
stances, to  have  a  united  country. 


44      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Commencement  of  Civil  Government  Regime. — Upheld 
by  Newspapers  and  Business  Men. — Introduction  of 
Sedition  Bill  Which  Becomes  Law. — The  "Free- 
dom" Editorial  upon  Which  Proprietor  and  Editor 
Were  Convicted  of  Sedition  and  Treason. — Bad 
Outlook  for  Newspapers. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  civil  government 
regime,  the  American  newspapers  and  business 
men  of  Manila,  were  unanimously  in  favor  of 
the  change,  but  to-day  there  is  not  a  paper  but 
would  prefer  all  the  restrictions  that  were  placed 
upon  them  by  Generals  Otis  and  MacArthur,  to 
the  laws  that  have  been  passed  to  squelch  them  by 
the  Civil  Commission — laws  that  are  interpreted 
by  Judges  who  hold  their  offices  through  the 
grace  of  and  by  the  will  of  the  Commission 
alone.  Not  even  the  purely  American  cases  are 
given  a  trial  by  jury. 

The  Commission,  from  the  first,  seems  to  have 
gone  out  of  its  way  to  antagonize  and  belittle 
the  local  press,  all  of  whom  were  in  favor  of 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       45 

it  at  the  commencement.  It  would  have  required 
very  little  tact  and  judgment  on  the  part  of  the 
Commission  to  have  retained  that  loyalty. 

Criticisms  became  frequent  and  common,  and 
finally  the  Commission  decided  that  libel  laws 
did  not  cover  the  situation,  that  there  was  noth- 
ing in  any  existing  libel  law  that  could  punish 
an  editor  for  criticising  or  daring  to  assume  that 
the  members  of  the  Commission,  either  indi- 
vidually or  collectively,  were  not  paragons  of  ad- 
ministrative excellence.  Consequently  a  Sedition 
Bill  was  hastily  prepared  and  hurriedly  rushed 
through  and  made  law.  The  main  parts  of  the 
law  were  taken  from  old  statutes  of  American 
states,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  obsolete,  and 
the  mere  fact  that  such  a  law  had  to  be  passed 
proved  the  utter  incapacity  of  the  Commission. 
No  more  conclusive  evidence  could  be  required 
of  what  a  slender  thread  the  Commission  hung 
by  with  the  Philippine  people,  than  their  claim 
that  it  was  necessary  to  charge  the  "Freedom" 
with  Sedition  for  publishing  in  an  editorial,  on 
Sunday,  April  6th,  the  following: 

A  FEW  HARD  FACTS. 

Sidney  Adamson,  in  a  late  letter  in  Leslie's 
Weekly  has  the  following  to  say  of  the  action 
of  the  Civil  Commission,  in  appointing  rascally 
natives  to  important  government  positions: 


46      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

"It  is  a  strong  thing  to  say,  but  nevertheless 
true,  that  the  Civil  Commission,  through  its  ex- 
insurgent  office-holders,  and  by  its  continual  dis- 
regard for  the  records  of  natives  obtained  dur- 
ing the  military  rule  of  the  islands,  has,  in  its 
distribution  of  offices,  constituted  a  protectorate 
over  a  set  of  men  who  should  be  in  jail  or  de- 
ported. .  .  .  Tecson,  ex-presidente  of  San 
Pablo,  was  removed  from  his  position  for  his 
double  dealing.  Among  other  crimes  he  had  a 
great  many  of  the  rich  residents  arrested  on 
charges  of  complicity  with  the  insurgents.  One 
by  one,  he  complained  to  the  commanding  officer 
that  he  had  been  mistaken,  until  they  were  all 
set  free.  It  was  afterwards  discovered  that  he 
obtained  $100.00  a  head  to  obtain  their  release. 
The  Civil  Commission  returned  him  to  the  town 
recently  as  a  justice  of  the  peace.  This  is  the 
kind  of  foolish  work  that  the  Commission  is  do- 
ing over  the  island,  reinstating  insurgents  and 
rogues,  and  turning  down  the  men  who  have 
during  the  struggle  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  aided 
the  Americans." 

These  are  serious  charges  which  are  made 
against  the  civil  government  but  the  most  serious 
part  of  the  matter  is  that  there  is  good  reason 
to  believe  for  the  most  part,  that  the  charges  are 
true.  This  is  one  of  the  grertest  weapons  which 
the  Civil  Commission  has  furnished  to  be  used 
ao-ainst  itself.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the 
Filipino  office-holders  of  the  Islands  are  in  a  good 
many  instances  rascals.  The  Federal  Party, 
which  claims  to  be  the  true  friend  of  the  Amer- 
icans, has  time  and  time  again  been  accused  of 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       47 

double  dealing.  The  Commission  has  exalted  to 
the  highest  positions  in  the  Islands  Filipinos  who 
are  alleged  to  be  notoriously  corrupt  and  ras- 
cally, and  men  of  no  personal  character,  and  in 
other  instances  has  depended  for  its  information 
upon  the  alleged  hypocrites  who  obsequiously 
furnished  the  greatest  number  of  triumphal 
arches,  and  bands  of  music  to  greet  the  visiting 
gubernatorial  party. 

Editor  Valdez,  of  "Miau,"  made  serious 
charges  against  two  of  the  native  commissioners, 
and  if  those  against  Pardo  de  Tavera,  were  true, 
they  would  brand  the  man  as  a  coward  and  a 
rascal,  and  with  what  result?  Was  any  effort 
made  to  disprove  the  charges ;  was  de  Tavera 
asked  to  vindicate  himself,  or  did  the  Commis- 
sion do  anything  to  vindicate  itself  from  having 
appointed  a  man,  with  charges  of  this  sort  against 
him,  to  the  highest  position  in  the  gift  of  the 
Commission,  at  a  greater  annual  salary  than  that 
paid  to  the  vice-president  of  the  United  States? 
As  far  as  is  known.  No!  However,  the  native 
commissioners,  claiming  that  they  were  libelled 
(under  a  law  which  specifies  that  the  greater 
the  truth  the  greater  the  libel),  entered  suit 
against  the  alleged  writer  of  the  articles,  Seiior 
Valdez,  and  on  one  charge  alone  he  has  been 
found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  a  fine  of  eight 
hundred  pesos.  And  the  beautiful  part  of  it  is — 
think  of  it,  Americans  in  the  United  States ! — that 
the  trial  under  Spanish  law  was  no  more  than 
a  travesty  of  justice  from  an  American  stand- 
point and  could  no  more  have  taken  place  in 
America  than  it  could  have  in  the  moon.    The 


48       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

defense  were  not  allowed  to  prove  the  truth  of 
the  allegations,  which  they  were  willing  and 
anxious  to  do.  Is  this  Americanism?  Is  this 
the  form  of  justice  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  desire  should  prevail  in  the  Philippines? 
Is  it  the  desire  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  that  the  natives  against  whom  these 
charges  have  been  made  (which,  if  true,  abso- 
lutely villi fy  their  personal  characters)  be  per- 
mitted to  retain  their  seats  on  the  Civil  Commis- 
sion, the  executive  body  of  the  Philippines  gov- 
ernment, without  an  investigation? 

Outside  of  the  "Miau"  incident,  many  other 
charges  have  also  been  made ;  it  is  a  notorious 
fact  that  many  branches  of  the  government  or- 
ganized by  the  Civil  Commission  are  rotten,  and 
corrupt.  The  fiscal  system,  upon  which  life, 
liberty,  and  justice  depends,  is  admitted  by  the 
Attorney-General  himself  to  be  most  unsatis- 
factory. It  is  a  fact  that  the  Philippine  judiciary 
is  far  from  being  what  it  should.  Neither  fiscals 
nor  judges  can  be  persuaded  to  convict  insur- 
gents when  they  wish  to  protect  them,  and  it  is 
not  strange  that  this  condition  of  affairs  should 
exist.  The  whole  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the 
Civil  Commission  have  done  too  much  work. 
They  have  established  a  government  here  for 
which  the  Filipinos  will  not  be  capable  for  years, 
and,  realizing  their  mistake,  they  are  attempting 
to  strengthen  the  vital  points  to  a  sufficient  ex- 
tent to  save  the  destruction  of  the  system  through 
its  own  imperfections.  This  is  a  sign  of  possible 
regeneration. 

The  Civil  Commission  have  a  very  hard  task 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       49 

before  them.  In  their  position  they  are  open  to 
criticism  from  all,  and  must  realize  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  all.  It  is  to  be  feared,  how- 
ever, that  the  Commission,  realizing  this  fact,  has 
determined  to  go  ahead  and  please  itself  without 
reference  to  any  one  else.  It  would  seem,  in  the 
matter  of  industrial  taxation,  the  currency  and 
the  many  others  that  have  come  up  from  time 
to  time,  that  the  Commission  has  done  exactly 
the  opposite  of  what  was  desired  by  the  major- 
ity of  the  interests  of  the  islands.  The  evils  of 
its  policy  have  been  realized  and  have  fallen 
upon  those  who  have  had  no  remedy.  It  is  a 
significant  fact,  that,  although  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence, newspapers  would  support  the  govern- 
ment, the  Civil  Commission  has  been  unable  to 
find  an  organ  among  the  reputable  papers  of 
Manila,  and  that  every  correspondent  who  has 
visited  the  islands  has  constituted  himself  a  par- 
tisan against  the  civil  government.  These  facts 
are  significant,  Messrs.  Commissioners;  they 
mean  that  there  is  something  wrong  somewhere ; 
they  mean  that  you  have  made  fatal  mistakes,  and 
that  the  results  of  your  optimism  have  not  been 
suiSicient  to  warrant  it. 

There  is  not  a  newspaper  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  but  prefers  civil  government  to  military 
government.  When  you  started  off  on  that  mem- 
orable 7th  of  July,  with  a  flourish  of  trumpets 
and  a  waving  of  banners,  we  were  all  with  you. 
Since  then  we  have  dropped  by  the  wayside  one 
by  one,  according  to  the  amount  of  courage  which 
accompanied  our  convictions.  Some  of  us  still 
attempt  to  stand  by  you  because  of  certain  com- 


50      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

mercial  reasons,  demonstrated  by  advertising" 
patronage,  but  these  make  the  most  ludicrous  at- 
tempts to  reconcile  the  truth  with  their  editorial 
policies,  and  often  find  direct  contradictions  in 
the  same  issue.  Press  agents  for  the  civil  gov- 
ernment would  succeed  in  convincing  the  news- 
papers of  Manila  that  everything  was  lovely  if 
it  was  not  for  the  reports  from  the  Provinces  to 
the  contrary.  Only  a  short  time  ago  the  editor 
of  "Freedom"  had  a  long  interview  with  an  officer 
of  the  constabulary,  who  attempted  to  point  out 
the  peaceful  conditions  existing  in  Tayabas,  and 
to  emphasize  his  statements,  pointed  out  the  sit- 
uation with  the  aid  of  a  map.  This  officer  had 
just  returned  from  Tayabas.  Now  we  hear  all 
sorts  of  reports  as  to  rottenness  existing  in  the 
province,  and  especially  the  northern  end  of  it, 
it  is  said  that  it  is  impossible  to  secure  the  con- 
viction of  the  law  breakers  and  outlaws  by  the  na- 
tive justices,  or  prosecution  by  the  native  fiscals. 
Outlawrj'  and  insurrection  continue.  Leyte  is  in 
the  doubtful  column,  and  there  are  rumblings 
from  many  other  districts.  In  Manila  the  great- 
est dissatisfaction  exists  as  to  the  stand  taken  on 
the  currency  question.  The  long  and  short  of  it 
is  that  Americans  will  not  stand  for  an  arbitrary 
government,  especially  when  evidences  of  carpet- 
bagging  and  rumors  of  graft  are  too  thick  to 
be  pleasant. 

If  civil  government  is  to  be  a  success  in  the 
Philippines,  there  must  be  a  radical  departure 
from  the  altitudes,  and  a  listening  to  reason  and 
the  desires  of  the  people.     Backbone  must  be 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       51 

instituted  into  the  provincial  governments,  and 
the  entire  system  must  be  strengthened.  If  not, 
the  present  movement  which  has  already  gained 
way  in  the  States  is  liable  to  spread  until  it 
drowns  out  the  Philippines  altogether.  Many  a 
little  boy  has  lost  all  the  pleasure  from  his  ice 
cream  by  eating  too  much  of  it. 

Since  the  publication  of  that  editorial,  outside 
of  what  may  have  appeared  at  the  trial,  for  which 
the  editor  and  publisher  were  condemned,  the 
statements  then  made  have  been  amply  and  em- 
phatically proved,  as  :  ly  one  who  read  the  sworn 
testimony  given  before  the  Gardener  court,  of 
which  General  Wint  was  the  presiding  officer, 
will  fully  agree.  The  facts  developed  in  that 
case  alone  would  suffice  in  the  mind  of  any  ordi- 
nary individual  to  endorse  all  that  was  stated  in 
the  "Freedom." 

Although  the  "Freedom"  was  probably  more 
severe  in  its  criticisms  than  any  other  paper,  the 
"Times"  and  the  "American"  practically  echoed 
and  endorsed  everything  printed  by  it.  but  the 
Commission  now  has  the  papers  sufficiently  ter- 
rorized so  that  they  are  afraid  to  tell  the  truth, 
and  they  will  doubtless  be  very  cautious.  There 
are,  however,  some  brainy,  able  men  at  the  heads 
of  the  newspapers  in  Manila,  who  will  neither  be 
forced  nor  compelled  to  write  what  they  do  not 
believe  in  order  to  elevate  Governor  Taft  and 
his  associates  into  the  position  of  Czars. 

The  Press  Club  made  an  appeal  to  President 
Roosevelt  when  the  law  was  first  put  into  force 
against  the  "Freedom,"  and  they  cabled  to  Wash- 


52       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ington  at  considerable  expense,  but  not  even  a 
reply  was  vouchsafed. 

Under  present  conditions  in  the  Philipp'nes, 
the  outlook  for  successful  newspaper  work  is 
very  poor. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Custom  House. — Phenomenal  Rise  of  the  Collec- 
tor, W.  Morgan  Shuster. — Postal  Affairs. — Good 
Work  done  by  Auditor  Lawshe. — Excellent  Results 
Accomplished  by  the  Forestry  Bureau  under  Cap- 
tain Ahearn. — Some  Useless  Bureaus. — Provincial 
Governments. 

One  of  the  principal  branches  of  the  Govern- 
ment is  naturally  the  Custom  House,  which,  ac- 
cording to  merchants  in  Manila,  both  those  who 
have  been  there  for  years  and  recent  American 
arrivals,  is  far  from  being  what  it  should  be, 
not  so  much  on  account  of  its  management,  but 
on  account  of  what  is  called  by  many  its  exces- 
sive tariff,  which  is  practically  much  higher  than 
it  was  in  Spanish  times.  Under  Spanish  domina- 
tion, the  merchants,  by  a  little  judicious  greasing 
of  the  palms  of  the  Manila  customs  officials, 
could  always  get  in  goods  of  a  high  quality  un- 
dervalued, whereas,  under  the  American  regime, 
this  system  of  defrauding  the  Government  has 
entirely  disappeared,  much  to  the  sorrow  of  the 
merchants  and  incidentally  of  the  general  public. 


54       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

as  it  has  meant  a  very  large  increase  in  the  prices 
of  almost  all  classes  of  goods,  so  much  so  that 
from  being  one  of  the  cheapest  places  on  earth 
to  live  in,  it  ranks  among  the  most  expensive. 

The  present  Collector  of  Customs,  Mr.  W. 
Morgan  Shuster,  made  an  admirable  record  as  a 
customs  official  during  the  entire  period  of  Gen- 
eral Bliss'  reign  as  the  Chief  Collector  of  Cus- 
toms for  the  Island  of  Cuba.  Mr.  Shuster  is  a 
splendid  example  of  the  possibilities  of  the  Amer- 
ican boy  who  has  integrity,  intelligence  and  en- 
ergy. At  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish-Amer- 
ican War,  Mr.  Shuster  joined  the  War  De- 
partment as  a  temporary  clerk  at  $900  per 
year.  He  had  been  a  student  at  the  George- 
town University,  and  as  he  had  completed 
his  studies,  took  the  first  opportunity  that 
arose  to  gain  remuneration.  While  in  the 
War  Department  he  did  his  work  as  stenographer 
and  typewriter  so  well  that  when  something  of 
special  importance  had  to  be  done  it  seemed  nat- 
ural to  entrust  it  to  him. 

When  Havana  was  occupied  and  the  Island 
Government  was  being  organized,  clerks  were 
needed.  There  were  all  sorts  of  stories  about 
yellow  fever  and  discomfort.  Slightly  increased 
salaries  were  offered  as  an  inducement.  Mr. 
Shuster  decided  that  he  wanted  a  wider  field, 


''I 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       55 

and  he  went  as  a  total  stranger  with  Major,  now 
General  Bliss  as  a  clerk  in  the  Cuban  Customs 
Service.  His  industry  and  attention  to  work 
soon  attracted  the  attention  of  his  new  superior. 
It  was  Mr.  Shuster  who  discovered  the  attempted 
customs  frauds  in  Havana,  and  he  was  gradually 
promoted  until  he  became  principal  assistant  to 
General  Bliss. 

Later,  when  civil  government  was  established 
in  the  Philippine  Islands,  the  President,  in  look- 
ing for  a  good  Collector  of  Customs  for  the  Arch- 
ipelago, called  upon  General  Bliss  to  recommend 
some  one,  if  there  was  anybody  in  the  Island  of 
Cuba  that  was  competent.  General  Bliss,  with- 
out hesitation,  suggested  Mr.  Shuster.  Mr.  Root, 
Secretary  of  War,  having  had  an  opportunity  of 
learning  the  value  of  his  work,  fully  concurred  in 
the  suggestion  made  by  General  Bliss,  and  in 
consequence  Mr.  Shuster  was  appointed  at  a 
salary  of  $6,000  a  year  as  Chief  of  the  Customs 
Service    in    the    Philippine   Archipelago. 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  that  Mr.  Shuster,  solely 
by  his  own  exertions,  in  the  short  period  of  three 
years,  rose  from  an  obscure  clerk  among  the 
forty  thousand  in  his  class  in  Washington,  where 
he  was  earning  less  than  $1,000  a  year,  to  one 
of  the  most  important  positions  in  the  Philippines, 
which  he  fills  with  dignity  and  honor.  His  rise  is 


56       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

probably  more  phenomenal  than  that  of  any  per- 
son brought  forward  by  the  events  connected 
with  the  Spanish-American  War,  and  is  a  splen- 
did example  of  the  possibilities  of  American 
youth. 

The  postal  affairs  of  the  Archipelago  have  as- 
sumed a  considerable  volume  of  business  which 
amounts  to  fully  three  times  as  much  as  was  ever 
handled  under  the  old  Spanish  regime.  The  Direc- 
tor-General, C.  M.  Cotterman,  has  organized  a 
satisfactory  system  of  delivery  for  the  entire 
Archipelago,  that  is,  satisfactory  so  far  as  the 
means  of  transportation  at  his  disposal  allow,  as 
in  many  cases  it  is  impossible  to  get  mail  to  the 
people  oftener  than  once  in  a  week  or  ten  days, 
and  sometimes  even  longer,  but  that  is  not  the 
fault  of  the  postal  authorities. 

The  post  office  in  Manila  is  in  a  convenient 
locality,  situated  on  the  Escolta,  Manila's  princi- 
pal street,  but  the  building  deserves  attention,  not 
being  up  to  the  needs  and  requirements  of  the 
postal  service  as  it  is  at  present,  and  many  a 
city  in  the  United  States  with  one-fifth  of 
the  population  of  Manila  has  a  much  more  com- 
modious building. 

Another  branch  of  the  Philippine  civil  gov- 
ernment, which  covers  a  considerable  amount  of 
work   in    the    course    of  a  day,  is  that  of  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       57 

treasury,  the  Treasurer  being  Mr.  Frank  A. 
Branagan. 

The  Treasury  Department  arranges  for  the 
payment  of  all  the  civil  employees  of  the  Gov- 
ernment from  one  end  of  the  Archipelago  to  the 
other,  which  means  a  considerable  amount  of 
work,  while  closely  allied  to  the  Treasury  De- 
partment may  be  said  to  be  the  Auditor's  De- 
partment, presided  over  by  Mr.  A.  L.  Lawshe. 

Mr,  Lawshe  has  long  been  connected  with  the 
Auditor's  Department  in  Washington,  and  was 
appointed  auditor  to  the  Island  of  Cuba 
when  the  gigantic  postal  frauds  were  first  discov- 
ered. As  soon  as  civil  government  was  formed  in 
the  Philippines,  Mr.  Lawshe  was  sent  there  with 
all  the  power  that  could  be  given  to  an  auditor, 
for  the  Administration  in  Washington  was  deter- 
mined that  no  such  scandal  as  the  Cuban  postal 
affair  should  tarnish  the  American  record  in  the 
Philippines  if  it  was  in  their  power  to  prevent  it, 
and  consequently  Mr.  Lawshe  was  chosen  as  one 
of  the  ablest  men  the  War  Department  had,  a 
man  still  young,  having  energy  and  at  the  same 
time  considerable  experience  and  unimpeachable 
integrity. 

A  branch  of  the  Government  that  has  in  the 
oast  few  months  had  its  hands  full  is  the  Quar- 
antine Department,  which  has  been  in  charge  of 


58      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Dr.  J.  S.  Perry,  of  the  Marine  Hospital  Service. 
Dr.  Perry  or  an  assistant  boards  every  steamer 
that  comes  to  Manila  between  daylight  and  dark, 
and  he  is  in  constant  communication  with  the 
American  Marine  Hospital  Service  at  Hong 
Kong  and  Yokohama.  As  soon  as  cholera  was 
announced  in  Hong  Kong,  vessels  from  that  port 
were  put  under  a  strict  quarantine  in  the  hope  of 
keeping  the  dread  epidemic  from  the  coast  of  the 
Philippines,  but  no  effort  could  prevent  its  com- 
ing in,  as  it  seems  to  have  spread  from  Hong 
Kong  throughout  China  and  even  Japan,  which 
has  the  strictest  quarantine  laws  in  the  world. 
The  purchase  of  supplies  for  the  Philippine 
Islands  for  the  use  of  the  various  branches  of 
the  Government  is  in  the  hands  of  a  bureau,  at 
the  head  of  which  is  Major  E.  G.  Shields,  who 
is  a  conscientious  and  hard-working  man,  though 
he  has  made  himself  very  unpopular  with  the 
merchants  of  Manila,  as  the  majority  of  the 
supplies  are  purchased  away  from  the  Philippines 
and  come  in  free  of  duty,  very  much  lower  than 
it  is  possible  for  the  merchants  of  Manila  to 
supply  the  same  goods,  as  they  have  to  pay  the 
original  price  plus  the  high  tariflF  at  Manila.  The 
merchants  do  not  attack  his  honesty  of  purpose, 
and  indeed,  the  majority  blame  the  Commission 
for  the  situation  more  than  Major  Shields,  al- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       59 

though,  as  he  is  the  individual  who  advertises 
the  contracts,  a  number  do  not  discriminate  be- 
tween the  individual  and  the  power  that  com- 
pels him  to  act  as  he  does. 

The  Forestry  Bureau,  under  the  direction  of 
Captain  George  P.  Ahearn,  loaned  for  duty  to 
the  civil  government  from  the  Ninth  United 
States  Infantry,  has  done  excellent  work  since 
its  inception,  April  14,  1900. 

The  Spanish  Government  had  inaugurated  a 
forestry  service  in  1863,  nearly  three  hundred 
years  after  their  occupation  of  the  islands.  The 
forestry  officials  were  selected  from  the  forestry 
service  of  Spain,  the  subordinate  places  in  the 
Philippines  being  partly  filled  by  Filipinos,  and 
at  no  time  had  a  Filipino  risen  to  any  of  the 
higher  places  in  the  service.  After  Captain 
Ahearn  took  charge,  notices  were  sent  to  the 
former  forestry  officials  to  make  applications  for 
positions  in  the  bureau  if  they  so  desired.  Men 
acquainted  with  the  country,  forests,  language 
and  former  regulations  were  considered  more 
useful  than  any  officials  from  other  countries. 
A  number  presented  themselves  with  credentials, 
which  usually  consisted  of  diplomas  from  the 
Agricultural  College  of  Manila.  None  but  na- 
tives presented  themselves,  the  Spanish  foresters 
having  returned,  leaving  the  Islands  without  a 


do      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

single  trained  forester.  Since  that  time  a  num- 
ber of  Filipinos  have  risen  high  in  the  forestry 
service  and  are  doing  excellent  work.  All  tim- 
ber cut  on  public  land  is  cut  by  license. 

The  demand  for  forest  products  during  the 
last  few  years  has  been  so  great  in  the  Philip- 
pines that  men  with  the  information  just  outlined 
were  sought  by  the  lumber  companies  and  of- 
fered higher  salaries  than  were  given  in  the 
forestry  service.  No  forestry  official  was  per- 
mitted to  receive  any  money  in  addition  to  his 
salary  in  the  Forestry  Bureau  for  supervising 
papers  or  any  other  work  rendered  in  the  course 
of  his  duties. 

Captain  Ahearn  found  the  Spanish  forestry 
laws  and  regulations  that  were  in  force  in  Au- 
gust, 1898,  to  be  excellent,  and  practically  in 
line  with  similar  laws  and  regulations  in  Europe, 
where  the  science  of  forestry  has  reached  a  high 
stage  of  perfection,  but  unfortunately  these  laws 
and  regulations,  up  to  the  time  of  American  oc- 
cupation, had  not  been  enforced  and  the  science 
not  practiced,  as  the  record  of  the  testimony  of 
an  official  shows.  Under  Spanish  administration, 
licenses  cut  any  and  everything.  Trees  to  be 
felled  were  not  selected.  No  minimum  size  was 
maintained.    Valuable  rubber  and  gutta  percha 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      61 

trees  were  felled  and  some  of  the  finest  woods 
were  used  as  fire  wood. 

Captain  Ahearn  has  caused  a  complete  change 
in  all  this,  and  at  present  the  bureau  is  one  of 
the  most  effective  under  the  Philippine  Com- 
mission. 

The  Bureau  of  Non-Christian  Tribes,  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  D.  P.  Barrows,  is  one  of 
those  bureaus  that  has  yet  to  show  for  what  pur- 
pose it  was  made  a  separate  and  distinct  organ- 
ization and  not  merely  a  part  of  some  other 
branch  of  government. 

The  Mining  Bureau,  under  Mr.  Charles  H. 
Burritt,  has  not  yet  assumed  proportions  to  en- 
title it  to  be  a  special  bureau,  and  it  could  easily 
have  been  made  a  portion  of  the  Forestry  Bureau 
with  a  single  additional  clerk. 

The  Agricultural  Bureau,  which  has  recently 
been  formed,  should  prove  of  immense  value. 

The  Weather  Bureau,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Rev.  Father  Algue,  who  is  superintendent 
of  the  observatory,  does  good  work  in  giving 
warning  of  approaching  typhoons,  and  is  gen- 
erally accurate  with  regard  to  weather  prob- 
abilities. 

The  Government  Cold  Storage  Bureau,  in  a 
climate  like  Manila,  has  been  a  boon  to  all  those 
entitled  to  purchase  their  ice  from  it.    Of  course. 


62      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

the  local  ice  manufacturers  objected  to  the  for- 
mation of  this  bureau,  as  they  have  had  to  re- 
duce the  price  of  ice,  and  also  have  lost  a  very 
large  number  of  customers,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  anybody  connected  with  the  Government  can 
purchase  ice  from  the  Cold  Storage  Bureau  at 
half  the  price  at  which  it  is  obtainable  from  the 
merchants,  but  there  is  no  question  that  the  cold 
storage  for  the  Government  was  necessary,  as 
the  supply  of  ice  from  the  local  manufacturers 
was  neither  certain  nor  satisfactory  when  ob- 
tained, as  customers  could  never  be  sure  that 
the  water  used  in  the  making  of  the  ice  was 
sterilized.  For  some  time  Captain  L.  S.  Ron- 
diez  has  been  in  charge  of  this  bureau. 

It  is  difficult  to  go  through  a  list  of  the  numer- 
ous bureaus  that  have  been  put  into  commission 
by  the  present  civil  government,  but  the  prin- 
cipal ones  not  previously  alluded  to  are  the  Bu- 
reau of  Public  Lands,  the  Bureau  of  Architecture 
and  the  Bureau  of  Printing. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Municipality  of  Manila  a  Credit  to  the  Commission. — 
Police  Force  Efficient. — Good  Work  of  the  Board 
of  Health. — Bilibid  Prison  Becoming  like  an  Ameri- 
can Penitentiary. — Music  on  the  Luneta. — Senti- 
ment Regarding  the  Tearing  Down  of  the  Walls. 

Perhaps  of  all  the  departments  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Philippine  Islands  for  which  the 
Commission  is  responsible,  the  greatest  success 
has  been  in  the  municipality  of  Manila.  It  has 
been  under  the  immediate  eye  of  the  Commis- 
sion since  the  commencement  of  civil  rule,  and 
the  two  American  members  of  the  Municipal 
Board  are  young  and  energetic  men,  in  thorough 
accord  with  the  ideas  of  the  Commission  and 
quick  to  take  suggestions  when  offered.  Both 
Governor  Taft  and  afterwards  Acting  Governor 
Wright  spent  a  considerable  portion  of  their  time 
in  studying  the  needs  of  the  City  of  Manila. 

The  Municipal  Board  consists  of  three  mem- 
bers, the  President,  Arsemo  Cruz  Herrera,  at 


64      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

$5,000  per  annum,  while  the  American  member^ 
are  Percy  G.  McDonell  and  Charles  H.  Sleeper, 
at  $4,500  each  per  annum. 

In  line  with  the  policy  of  placing  Filipinos  in 
high  salaried  and  responsible  positions,  a  Fili- 
pino was  made  the  president  of  the  board,  and  his 
appointment  has  been  a  success,  for  even  if  he 
has  done  nothing  to  amount  to  anything,  he  has 
had  the  good  sense  not  to  interfere  and  hinder 
the  American  members  of  the  board  in  their 
work. 

First  and  foremost  of  the  departments  under 
the  Municipal  Board,  both  for  its  size  and  ef- 
ficiency, is  the  police  force,  and  to  Captain  George 
W.  Curry,  the  superintendent,  who  resigned  on 
the  5th  of  July,  is  due  the  credit  of  having  or- 
ganized a  police  force,  the  white  portion  of  which 
is  the  peer  of  any  police  force  in  the  world. 

Captain  Curry  was  once  Sheriff  of  his  county 
in  New  Mexico.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Spanish-American  War,  he  became  an  officer  un- 
der Wood  and  Roosevelt  in  the  Rough  Riders. 
After  that  regiment  was  mustered  out.  Captain 
Curry  applied  for  and  obtained  a  commission  in 
the  Eleventh  Volunteer  Cavalry,  serving  in  it 
with  honor  and  distinction,  until  the  early  part  of 
1 90 1,  when  he  was  made  Governor  of  the  Cam- 
arines.     There  were  many  applications  for  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       65 

position  of  Chief  of  the  Police  Department  when 
the  civil  authorities  took  over  the  reins  of  office, 
but  Curry  was  not  one  of  them.  He  was  se- 
lected solely  on  account  of  his  fitness,  and  it 
was  unquestionably  one  of  the  best  appointments 
that  the  Civil  Commission  made. 

The  police  force  had  about  four  hundred  white 
policemen,  all  of  whom  had  served  in  the  army 
in  the  Philippines,  the  majority  of  them  in  the 
Volunteers.  Every  man  was  picked,  the  result 
being  a  fine,  able-bodied,  strong,  healthy-looking 
lot  of  men,  accustomed  to  discipline  and  obeying 
orders  with  promptitude.  They  were  always 
civil  and  obliging  to  the  public  and  ambitious 
to  rise. 

They  were  placed  in  the  most  important  parts 
of  the  city,  especially  those  places  which  the 
white  inhabitants  frequented.  There  was  always 
a  certain  amount  of  resentment  on  the  part  of 
the  American  residents  at  the  fact  that  each  mem- 
ber of  the  Commission  had  a  white  police  guard 
continually  over  his  house,  as  it  was  the  opin- 
ion that  if  the  city  was  really  pacified,  there  was 
no  necessity  of  a  special  guard  for  the  Commis- 
sioners any  more  than  for  any  business  man, 
whereas,  if  it  was  merely  a  matter  of  dignity,  they 
required  more  than  Cabinet  officers  in  Washing- 
ton. 


66      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Captain  Curry  brought  this  branch  of  the  po- 
Hce  force  to  a  splendid  state  of  efficiency,  and 
was  instrumental  in  obtaining  for  them  a  gym- 
nasium and  club,  while  he  also  succeeded  in 
forming  a  club  for  the  thousand  or  more  na- 
tive policemen  belonging  to  the  force. 

The  native  police  also  deserve  their  meed 
of  praise,  for  they  have  really  done  good  work, 
and  although  they  look  rather  diminutive  along- 
side of  the  stalwart  American  policemen,  still 
on  frequent  occasions  they  have  shown  consider- 
able pluck  in  capturing  criminals. 

The  work  of  the  Board  of  Health  this  year 
has  been  something  enormous,  and  Colonel  L.  M. 
Maus  has  worked  with  his  assistants  early  and 
late,  mainly  in  the  endeavor  to  stay  the  ravages 
of  cholera.  Portions  of  the  city  have  been 
isolated  and  even  burned,  the  food  supplies  have 
been  examined,  vegetables  and  other  foods  have 
been  prevented  from  coming  into  the  city  from 
the  provinces,  houses  all  over  the  city  have 
been  made  sanitary  and  in  many  cases  con- 
demned and  ordered  to  be  torn  down;  a  deten- 
tion camp  was  formed  in  which  to  keep  for 
a  certain  number  of  days,  people  who  happened 
to  reside  in  a  house  where  cholera  broke  out, 
and  all  this  caused  an  immense  amount  of  labor 
and  a  large  increase  in  the  force.    At  one  time 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       67 

over  five  hundred  additional  men  were  employed. 

In  the  fall  of  1901,  the  work  of  the  Board  of 
Health  was  largely  devoted  to  stamping  out  the 
plague,  and  two  cents  each  was  given  for  every 
rat  that  was  brought  to  the  stations  at  which  In- 
spectors were.  If  the  City  of  Manila  is  not  to- 
day healthy,  it  is  not  the  fault  of  Major  Maus 
and  those  who  have  assisted  him  during  the 
past  twelve  months,  chief  of  whom  may  be  said 
to  be  Dr.  H.  A.  Herman. 

In  the  office  of  the  Board  of  Health,  all  busi- 
ness concerning  the  different  departments  of  San 
Lazaro  Hospital,  Hospicio  De  San  Jose,  Plague 
Hospital,  Experimental  Hospital  for  Rinderpest 
and  Plague,  Vaccine  Station  and  Municipal 
Laboratories  is  transacted.  If  one  becomes  ill 
of  any  suspicious  disease,  a  doctor  from  the 
Health  Board  takes  charge  of  the  case  until 
all  danger  of  infection  is  over,  or  until  the  pa- 
tient is  laid  to  rest  in  quicklime,  in  one  of  the 
numerous  cemeteries  of  Manila. 

The  water  arrangements  of  the  city  are  not  at 
present  adequate  to  the  population,  and  plans 
are  on  foot  to  largely  increase  the  supply.  Many 
years  ago  a  Spanish  gentleman  died  and  left  a 
sum  of  money  which  was  to  be  used  for  the 
building  of  a  reservoir  and  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  the  water  into  the  city,  prior  to  which 


68      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

water  was  brought  in  carts  and  sold  from  house 
to  house.  The  only  stipulation  that  the  donor 
made  was  that  this  water  was  to  be  free  to  the 
poor,  a  stipulation  which,  strange  to  say,  seems 
to  have  been  always  carried  out.  The  members  of 
the  Municipal  Board  have  plans  now  before  them 
to  more  than  double  the  supply  at  present  ob- 
tained. 

The  Fire  Department  has  been  very  antiquated 
and  practically  useless,  but  under  the  new  chief, 
Hugh  Bonner,  formerly  Chief  of  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment of  New  York,  if  his  plans  are  carried  out, 
the  city  eventually  will  have  an  efficient  Fire  De- 
partment. Manila  does  not  as  a  rule  suffer  from 
very  serious  fires,  but  when  a  conflagration  does 
take  place,  the  fire  is  generally  past  quelling 
as  far  as  the  house  itself  is  concerned,  before  the 
Fire  Department  arrives,  and  their  work  here- 
tofore has  mainly  been  to  endeavor  to  save  the 
surrounding  property.  Mr.  Bonner  hopes  to  have 
his  Department  arrive  at  such  a  state  of  efficien- 
cy that  the  fire  in  the  house  itself  may  be  stopped, 
and  in  the  course  of  time  this  result  will  doubt- 
less be  achieved,  as  no  more  Nina  shacks  are 
allowed  to  be  built  within  the  limits  of  the  city. 
The  ordinary  Nipa  shacks  only  last  from  two 
to  three  years,  and  their  places  will  have  to  be 
taken  either  by  stone  or  wooden  houses. 


HON.  LUKE  E.  WRIGHT. 
Vice-Governor  of  the  Philippines. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       69 

There  are  several  public  markets  in  Manila, 
which  have  their  own  inspectors  as  well  as  be- 
ing supervised  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  Board 
of  Health,  and  all  animals  that  are  killed  for 
public  consumption  have  to  go  through  the 
slaughter  house. 

The  Bilibid  Penitentiary  is  in  the  City  of 
Manila,  and  in  the  last  twelve  months  has  un- 
dergone considerable  improvement.  It  is  begin- 
ning to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  modern  Amer- 
ican jail.  The  Warden,  Captain  G.  N.  Wolfe, 
was  Deputy  Warden  under  the  military  regime. 
He  speaks  Spanish  well,  and  is  now  acquainted 
with  the  majority  of  the  criminals  in  the  Philip- 
pines. Changes  that  have  been  made,  have  been 
mainly  if  not  entirely  at  his  suggestion,  and  the 
sanitation  is  as  nearly  perfect  as  it  can  be  made 
at  present  in  the  Philippines,  while  the  food 
is  abundant  and  healthful. 

The  Penitentiary  at  Manila  is  partly  self-sup- 
porting and  Captain  Wolfe  hopes  to  make  it 
entirely  so.  There  is  a  laundry  in  connection 
with  the  prison,  at  which  the  public  can  have 
all  washing  done.  There  is  also  a  furniture  store 
for  the  sale  of  bamboo  furniture,  all  of  which 
is  made  in  the  prison.  There  is  also  a  curio  de- 
partment, where  all  sorts  of  knick-knacks  are 


70       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

sold,  made  of  Caribao  horns,  fancy  woods,  and 
other  odd  materials. 

The  Department  of  Streets,  Parks,  Docks  and 
Wharves  is  one  for  which  the  people  of  Manila 
should  be  very  thankful  for  the  efficient  man- 
ner in  which  the  work  is  conducted.  The  streets 
are  well  watered  and  when  found  in  need  of 
repairs  are  attended  to  promptly.  The  streets 
themselves  are  a  long  way  from  what  the  people 
would  like,  mainly  on  account  of  their  narrow- 
ness and  the  material  with  which  they  are  made, 
and  it  is  estimated  that  it  will  take  some  twenty 
million  dollars  to  put  in  drains,  sewer  pipes  and 
proper  streets  in  the  city. 

One  of  the  main  features  of  Manila  life  is  the 
Luneta,  which  is  the  daily  evening  drive  of  every- 
body who  has  a  horse  in  Manila,  and  the  walk  of 
thousands  of  others  who  do  not  own  anything 
in  the  way  of  transportation  excepting  their 
own  legs.  The  Luneta  has  been  vastly  improved 
since  the  old  Spanish  days.  It  is  well  lighted, 
and  is  a  most  pleasant  resort  between  half-past 
five  and  seven  o'clock,  during  which  hours,  six 
nights  a  week,  the  Military  Band  plays,  Monday 
being  the  only  day  when  it  does  not. 

For  a  time,  shortly  after  the  civil  authorities 
took  possession  of  the  city,  there  was  some  trou- 
ble as  to  where  the  music  should  be  obtained,  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      71 

city  not  possessing  a  band  of  its  own,  while  the 
Military  did  not  feel  called  upon  to  send  their 
bands  without  express  orders.  Finally  it  was 
agreed  upon  that  two  regimental  bands  should 
play  three  times  a  week  each,  while  the  city 
should  contribute  $ioo  per  month  to  each  regi- 
ment for  the  purchase  of  music,  repairing  the 
ij.'struments  and  similar  uses. 

The  municipal  authorities  have  in  contempla- 
tion the  establishment  of  a  city  band,  which  will 
probably  be  in  connection  with  the  Police  De- 
partment, though  at  one  time  the  idea  was 
dropped  as  too  expensive.  There  is  no  question 
that  music  is  much  more  of  a  necessity  in  a  coun- 
try like  the  Philippines,  than  it  would  be  in  a 
colder  clime,  and  it  is  almost  a  certainty  that 
within  the  next  few  months,  Manila  will  own  her 
own  city  band. 

Taken  all  in  all,  the  municipality  of  Manila  is 
a  credit  to  the  American  administration  and  in 
every  way  a  great  improvement  over  what  it 
was  under  Spanish  rule,  though  to  make  a  mod- 
ern city  of  Manila  will  require  a  vast  expendi- 
ture of  money,  which  sooner  or  later,  before 
epidemics  can  be  checked,  must  be  undertaken. 

There  is  some  sentiment  in  the  United  States 
with  regard  to  the  tearing  down  of  the  walls 
of  the  Walled  City,  which  would  considerably 


72      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

increase  the  size  of  Manila  and  would  enable 
a  wide  park  to  be  laid  around  it.  At  present 
all  health  authorities  agree  that  the  wall  and 
the  moat  are  menaces  to  the  health  of  the  city. 
This  is  recognized  even  by  those  who  know  noth- 
ing whatever  about  sanitation,  but  it  is  impos- 
sible to  look  upon  the  dark,  murky  water  in 
the  moat  which  is  a  breeding  place  for  mosqui- 
toes and  is  full  of  malaria,  without  recognizing 
the  fact  that  from  it  comes  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  sickness  in  Manila. 

The  walls  are  historically  not  of  any  great 
importance,  being  little  over  a  hundred  years  old, 
and  sentiment  should  not  be  allowed  to  interfere 
in  the  course  of  progress,  and  in  a  matter  that 
affects  the  health  of  tens  of  thousands  of  peo- 
ple. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

System  of  Courts. — ^Justices  of  the  Peace. — Municipal 
Judges. — Courts  of  First  Instance. — Supreme  Court. 
— ^Judge  Odlin  Rebukes  Attorney- General  Wilfley. — 
American  Lawyers  before  the  Judges. — Expenses 
of  Law  Suits  Doubled. — Native  Judges  and  Presi- 
dentes  Unfair. 

The  new  system  of  courts  under  the  civil  gov- 
ernment was  created  by  virtue  of  a  law  passed 
by  the  United  States  Philippine  Commission,  in 
June,  1901,  known  as  Act  No.  136.  This 
system  therefore  has  been  in  operation  over  a 
year  and  it  is  possible  to  give  a  clear  idea  of 
results. 

The  system  provides  for  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
in  each  municipality  of  the  Archipelago,  whose 
jurisdiction  extends  to  civil  cases  in  which  the 
amount  involved  does  not  exceed  $100,  United 
States  money,  and  who  is  empowered  to  try 
persons  charged  with  crime  where  the  penalty 
may  not  exceed  six  months'  imprisonment,  or 


74       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

$100  fine.  Their  criminal  jurisdiction  also  ex- 
tends to  investigations  of  more  serious  crimes, 
which,  if  tried  at  all,  come  before  the  Court  of 
First  Instance  in  the  Province,  in  which  the 
Justice  of  the  Peace  sits.  This  system  is  not 
applicable  to  the  City  of  Manila,  where  the  work 
is  divided.  There  two  Justices  of  the  Peace  are 
entrusted  with  civil  suits  where  the  amount  does 
not  exceed  $ioo,  gold,  and  to  dispose  of  the 
criminal  business  two  Municipal  Courts  exist, 
presided  over  by  American  judges  whose  func- 
tions are  purely  those  of  criminal  judges  and  who 
have  jurisdiction  over  all  offenses  against  mu- 
nicipal ordinances  of  the  city,  and  also  over 
violators  of  the  Penal  Code  where  the  penalty 
does  not  exceed  six  months  in  prison,  or  a  fine 
of  $  I  GO,  gold,  or  both.  All  Justices  of  the  Peace 
are  natives. 

Coming  down  to  the  courts  now  in  rank, 
corresponding  to  the  Superior  Courts  or  Cir- 
cuit Courts  as  they  are  variously  designated  in 
the  United  States,  the  Archipelago,  outside  of 
the  City  of  Manila,  was  divided  into  fourteen 
districts  and  in  each  district  a  Court  of  First 
Instance  was  created  with  one  judge  assigned 
to  each  district.  Of  the  fourteen  judges  thus 
assigned  six  were  Filipinos  and  eight  were  Amer- 
icans.    In  addition  a  special  court  was  created 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       75 

for  the  Island  of  Negros  to  dispose  of  a  vast 
accumulation  of  business,  and  this  special  court 
is  presided  over  by  an  American,  Judge  Nor- 
ris,  formerly  of  Nebraska. 

In  the  City  of  Manila  it  was  thought  at  first 
that  two  judges  would  be  sufficient  to  handle 
the  business  each  sitting  in  separate  court  rooms 
and  the  work  being  divided  equally  between 
them.  The  figures,  however,  show  that  between 
July  1st,  1901,  and  July  ist,  1902,  thirteen  hun- 
dred and  twelve  suits  were  instituted,  of  which 
three  hundred  and  sixty-three  were  criminal  and 
nine  hundred  and  forty-nine  were  civil.  The 
amount  of  business  being  largely  in  excess  of 
what  was  expected  it  became  necessary  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  judges  in  Manila  from  two 
to  three,  which  was  done  in  May  of  the  pres- 
ent year,  and  B.  S.  Ambler,  of  Salem,  Ohio, 
was  appointed  as  third  judge  of  First  Instance,  in 
Manila,  and  is  now  sitting  daily  with  the  other 
two  judges. 

The  Court  of  First  Instance  in  Manila,  as  well 
a,s  in  the  Provinces,  not  only  has  original  juris- 
diction in  all  civil  cases  in  which  over  $100  is 
involved,  but  also  has  original  jurisdiction  over 
all  crimes  wherein  the  penalty  may  exceed  six 
months'  imprisonment  or  $100.  Furthermore, 
appeals  from  courts  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  and 


76       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

from  Municipal  Courts  in  the  City  of  Manila, 
are  heard  by  the  Court  of  First  Instance  in  the 
respective  Provinces. 

The  highest  court  in  the  Islands,  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  Philippines,  comprises 
a  Chief  Justice  and  seven  Associate  Justices. 
The  Chief  Justice  and  the  two  Associate  Justices 
are  Filipinos,  and  the  remaining  four  Associate 
Justices  are  Americans.  This  court  corresonds 
to  the  highest  court  in  a  State  or  Territory,  and 
has  a  limited  original  jurisdiction,  but  the  great- 
est bulk  of  its  work  is,  of  course,  in  the  matter 
of  appeals  from  the  Courts  of  First  Instance. 

The  Justices  of  the  Peace  receive  no  salaries. 
Their  income  is  derived  from  a  fixed  schedule 
of  fees.  The  municipal  judges  in  the  City  of 
Manila  each  receive  $3,000.  The  Judges  of 
Courts  of  First  Instance  receive  salaries  ranging 
from  $3,000  to  $5,000,  according  to  the  amount 
of  work  in  their  respective  districts.  The  larger 
salary  is  received  only  by  the  three  Judges  in 
Manila,  and  the  increase  is  based  largely  upon 
the  fact  that  living  expenses  in  Manila  are  much 
more  than  in  the  Provinces. 

The  salaries  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  are  $7,000  each,  with  an  extra  $500  al- 
lowance for  the  Chief  Justice. 

A  total  of  four  hundred  and  eight  civil  cases 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       77 

were  brought  before  the  Supreme  Court,  of  which 
three  hundred  and  fifty-five  were  received  from 
the  old  aboHshed  Supreme  Court,  and  fifty-three 
from  the  new  Courts  of  First  Instance  by  way 
of  appeal.  Of  these  four  hundred  and  eight 
cases  the  Supreme  Court  decided  forty- 
three  on  the  merits,  seven  appeals  were 
withdrawn,  sixty-one  cases  were  pending 
on  January  ist,  1902,  for  decision,  and 
two  hundred  and  ninety-seven  were  not  at  issue 
by  reason  of  having  been  defectively  transferred 
from  the  old  Supreme  Court.  Under  the  former 
practice  cases  could  be  appealed  from  interloc- 
utory orders,  without  having  the  pleadings  com- 
pleted. This  vicious  practice  has  been  very  wise- 
ly done  away  with,  by  the  new  Code  of  Civil 
Procedure,  which  allows  appeals  in  civil  cases 
only  after  judgments  which  are  final. 

Turning  now  to  the  criminal  side  of  the 
work  of  the  Supreme  Court,  we  find  that  the 
present  court  inherited  from  the  former  Su- 
preme Court  three  hundred  and  thirty-nine  crim- 
inal cases,  and  received  ninety-one  by  way  of 
appeals  from  Courts  of  First  Instance,  thus  mak- 
ing a  total  of  four  hundred  and  thirty.  Of 
these  four  hundred  and  thirty  cases,  the  Supreme 
Court  during  the  first  six  months  of  its  existence 
decided    two   hundred    and    eighteen,    and    five 


78       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

appeals  were  withdrawn,  thus  leaving  two  hun- 
dred and   seven   cases   pending   for   decision. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  were  sixteen 
applications  for  writs  of  habeas  corpus  before  the 
Supreme  Court,  of  which  ten  were  denied,  five 
issued  and  one  withdrawn.  There  were  also 
three  case  of  certiorari  from  Courts  of  First  In- 
stance, in  one  of  which  the  writ  was  issued,  and 
in  two  of  which  the  writ  was  denied.  There  are 
also  four  cases  pending  involving  questions  of 
jurisdiction  between  the  military  courts  and  the 
ordinary  civil  courts. 

Before  the  time  when  the  Philippine  bill  passed 
Congress,  the  Supreme  Court  claimed  there  was 
no  appeal  in  any  case  from  their  decision  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  that 
the  only  appeal  possible  was  to  the  pardoning 
power  of  the  Commission.  This  was  felt  by. 
every  American  in  the  Philippines  to  be  unjust, 
and  had  any  important  case  arisen  there  is  very 
little  doubt  that  the  constitutional  right  of  such 
a  decision  would  have  had  to  be  passed  upon  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The 
Judiciary  is  entirely  and  absolutely  under  the 
Commission.  The  appointments  are  made  by  the 
Commission  and  removals  at  any  time  can  be 
made  by  it. 

It  is  not  the  desire  of  the  author  to  in  any 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       79 

way  impugn  the  honor  and  integrity  of  any 
judge  in  Manila,  but  at  the  same  time,  even 
the  most  honest  and  upright  of  judges  is  only 
human,  and  where  he  knows  that  the  desire  of  the 
Commission  is  to  have  a  man  convicted,  his  own 
inclination  would  be  more  than  probable  to  be 
in  accord. 

A  notable  exception  to  this  occurred  in  the 
"Freedom"  sedition  case,  when  Judge  Ar- 
thur F.  Odlin  severely  reprimanded  Attorney- 
General  Lebbeus  R.  Wilfley,  who  had  the  pre- 
sumption to  inform  Judge  Odlin  that  he  knew 
what  the  wishes  of  the  Commission  were  on 
the  subject  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  do  it. 
Judge  Odlin  informed  Attorney-General  Wilfley 
that  individuals  had  rights  as  well  as  govern- 
ments, and  that  he  was  there  to  protect  those 
rights,  and  that  so  far  as  his  court  was  con- 
cerned, he  was  going  to  do  justice  to  individuals 
as  well  as  to  the  Commission. 

When  a  high  authority  like  the  Attorney-Gen- 
eral seemed  to  take  it  for  granted  in  open  court 
that  the  judges  all  knew  it  was  their  duty  to 
do  as  the  Commission  wished,  a  more  potent 
argument  for  trial  by  jury,  in  American  cases 
at  all  events,  could  not  be  adduced.  As  a  high' 
ranking  military  officer  said  to  the  author  after 
this,  "Well,  Bellairs,  they  may  talk  about  mili- 


80      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

tarism  and  military  courts,  but  if  I  was  the  com- 
manding General,  and  should  send  word  to  a 
court  by  the  Judge  Advocate  what  I  desired 
should  be  done  in  the  case,  what  a  howl  there 
would  be  from  one  end  of  America  to  the  other. 
I  do  not  think  that  the  people  of  Manila  have 
gained  very  much,  by  their  judicial  change,  at 
all  events,  for  although  a  military  commission 
w^s  composed  of  a  number  of  army  officers,  still 
it  came  nearer  being  a  trial  by  jury  than  any- 
thing now  in  existence." 

The  "Freedom"  sedition  case,  as  soon  as  Judge 
Ambler  was  put  on  the  bench  was  taken  away 
from  Judge  Odlin  and  put  in  the  new  court. 
This  may  have  been  and  probably  was  purely 
accidental,  but  the  proprietor  and  editor  of  the 
"Freedom"  looked  upon  it  as  equivalent  to  a 
conviction  for  themselves,  for  they  doubted  very 
much  whether  another  judge  was  on  the  bench 
in  the  Philippines  as  fearless  as  was  Judge 
Odlin. 

There  was  not  a  man  in  Manila  who  had 
a  case  before  the  court,  when  he  thought  he 
was  in  the  right,  who  did  not  desire  to  get  his 
case  before  Judge  Odlin,  and  the  bar  of  Manila, 
almost  to  a  man,  considere  1  that  he  was  the 
best  lawyer  on  the  bench,  Supreme  Court  in- 
cluded. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       81 

A  question  that  has  often  come  up,  is  that 
regarding  the  practice  of  American  lawyers 
in  the  Philippine  courts,  several  taking  the 
ground  that  the  mere  fact  of  their  being  qualified 
to  practice  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  should  be  sufficient  reason  why 
they  should  be  permitted  to  practice  before  any 
court  in  the  Philippines.  The  Supreme  Court 
of  the  Philippines,  the  American  Justices  of 
whom  have  themselves  not  passed  the  examina- 
tion and  probably  could  not  if  they  wished,  de- 
cided that  a  lawyer  must  pass  the  necessary 
Spanish  qualifications,  even  though  the  case  was 
a  purely  American  one.  The  consequence  is,  that 
the  expenses  of  law  suits  in  Manila  are  double, 
as,  if  one  desires  a  lawyer  that  he  believes  to  be 
the  one  best  able  to  take  care  of  his  interests, 
and  this  lawyer  happens  not  to  be  a  member 
of  the  Philippine  bar,  a  Filipino  lawyer  must 
first  be  obtained,  who  then  hires  the  American 
lawyer  as  adviser,  and  that  is  the  way  the  major- 
ity of  the  important  suits  in  the  Philippines  are 
tried. 

There  is  no  question  that,  through  all  the 
Provinces,  the  native  Justices  and  Presidentes 
carry  things  with  a  high  hand,  and  the  man 
with  the  most  money  wins  his  suit,  and  where 


82       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

it  is  a  case  of  a  native  against  an  American,  or 
a  foreigner,  the  result  is  never  in  doubt,  the  na- 
tive winning  it  every  time.  Complaints  of  such 
cases  are  frequent  throughout  the  Provinces  and 
even  in  Manila. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Army  in  the  Philippines. — Its  Reward  Public  In- 
gratitude.— General  Wheaton  Attacked. — Senator 
Rawlins'  Attack  on  General  Chaffee. — Chaffee's 
Diplomacy. — Colonel  Lee's  Opinion  of  Chaffee. — 
General  Bell's  Humane  Concentration  Plans. — Gen- 
eral Smith,  a  Conquering  Hero,  Accomplished  with 
Little  Bloodshed  in  Six  Months  What  Spain  Never 
Succeeded  jn  Doing. — Peaceable  Natives  Favor 
Army. 

The  work  done  by  the  United  States  Army  in 
the  PhiHppines,  both  by  volunteers  and  regulars, 
has  been  one  of  ceaseless  toil  and  unwearying  de- 
votion to  duty.  Lives  have  been  cheerfully 
given  up  for  America's  honor,  and  out  of  chaos 
and  blackness  has  appeared  the  davm  of  a  new 
era  in  Philippine  history. 

The  reward  for  this  has  been  national  in- 
gratitude, partly  expressed  in  the  press  of  the 
country,  but  more  so  in  the  halls  of  Congress. 
The  Senator  from  Utah,  Mr.  Rawlins,  said :  "My 
God,  Senators,  will  any  one  rise  and  tell  me  when 


84       As  It  ts  in  the  Philippines. 

and  where  among  a  barbaric  people,  you  have 
read  of  such  an  act  of  brutality  as  that?  When 
was  anything  like  that  disclosed  elsewhere  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth?" 

This  was  an  allusion  to  the  army  in  the  Phil- 
ippines. Senator  Lodge  ably  defended  the  army 
in  Congress,  but  until  he  spoke  there  was  nothing 
but  abuse  and  contempt. 

When  General  Wheaton,  a  gray  haired  vet- 
eran of  the  Civil  War,  Indian  campaigns  and  the 
Spanish-American  War,  incidentally  remarked 
that  it  was  a  pity  such  remarks  as  President 
Schurman's  were  published  in  the  Philippines, 
and  it  was  thought  that  he  had  criticised  the  mi- 
nority report  of  the  Senate,  the  abuse  showered  on 
the  gallant  soldier  was  of  the  most  vituperative 
character,  and  one  Senator  went  so  far  as  to 
allude  to  him  as  a  "charity  boy,"  believing 
that  he  had  been  at  West  Point.  General 
Wheaton  was  not  a  West  Pointer,  but  had  he 
been,  he  would  have  had  something  to  have 
been  proud  of,  for  what  graduates  of  West  Point 
have  done  in  one  war  alone,  has  saved  the  coun- 
try many  times  over  what  West  Point  has  cost 
since  its  inception.  West  Point  has  given  to 
the  United  States  Army  the  finest  trained  body 
of  officers  of  any  army  in  the  world.  To  be  a 
graduate  of  West  Point  is  synonymous  with  be- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       85 

ing  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  honor,  and  to 
characterize  these  men  as  "charity  boys"  mere- 
ly stamps  the  speaker  as  ignorant  and  ill-bred. 

Senator  Rawlins  alluded  to  General  Chaffee's 
having  received  his  education  in  savagery  in 
China.  If  there  was  one  man  in  China  noted  for 
his  humanity  and  his  soldierly  qualities,  it  was 
General  Chaffee.  Many  a  British  officer  has  the 
author  heard  remark:  "Why  don't  they  send 
us  a  man  out  to  command  us  like  your  General  ?" 
There  is  not  a  known  case  of  cruelty  on  rec- 
ord of  a  single  soldier  of  the  United  States 
Army,  cavalry,  infantry,  artillery  or  engineer, 
in  the  China  campaign.  Their  exceeding  human- 
ity was  an  oft  quoted  example  among  the  na- 
tions in  China. 

General  Chaffee  is  far  too  well  known  to  be 
injured  by  such  a  man  as  Senator  Rawlins. 
His  record,  from  the  time  when  he  first  became 
a  private  in  the  Sixth  United  States  Cavalry,  in 
July,  1861,  to  April,  1902,  when  he  became  a 
Major  General,  has  been  one  of  long  devotion 
to  duty,  and  honor,  integrity  and  ability. 

Few  people  who  knew  General  Chaffee  best 
gave  him  credit  for  the  diplomatic  ability  that 
he  displayed  during  the  campaign  in  China,  where 
he  had  so  frequently  to  come  into  close  rela- 
tions in  delicate  matters  with  the  officers  of  the 


86       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

foreign  powers.  To  have  succeeded  in  the  Phil- 
ippines under  the  continual  nagging  and  suspi- 
cion of  the  Commission,  required  an  amount 
of  tact,  diplomacy  and  patience  granted  to  but 
few  men. 

From  July,  1901,  until  July,  1902,  General 
Chaffee  had  a  very  much  harder  problem  on 
his  hands  than  fell  to  the  lot  of  any  of  his  pred- 
ecessors, who  were  commanding  generals  in  the 
Philippines.  They  were  also  supreme  in  all 
the  powers  of  government,  and  could  do  what 
they  chose,  but  General  Chaffee  had  a  nominal 
title  as  Military  Governor,  which  extended  over 
a  few  of  the  Provinces,  and  was  supposed  to 
be  co-equal  with  the  Civil  Governor,  the  Hon. 
William  H.  Taft.  This  equality  was  very  much 
resented  by  the  civil  authorities,  and,  there  is 
little  doubt,  whether  intentionally  or  uninten- 
tionally, that  business  relations  were  made  very 
unpleasant  for  General  Chaffee  and  the  army 
generally. 

General  Chaffee  succeeded  in  that  twelve 
months,  as  few  men  could  have  done,  and  even 
succeeded  in  gaining  the  esteem  of  the  Com- 
mission itself.  What  foreigners  think  of  Gen- 
eral Chaffee,  let  Colonel  Lee,  the  British  Mili- 
tary Attache  with  the  army  in  Cuba,  express. 
He  said,  in  writing  of  El  Caney : 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       87 

"The  strong  post  had  been  carefully  recon- 
noitered  by  Brigadier-General  Chaffee  in  person, 
on  June  28  and  29,  and  he  had  submitted  a  plan 
of  attack  which  was  afterwards  carried  out  al- 
most to  the  letter. 

"I  feel  it  only  just  at  this  point  to  mention 
that,  however  novel  the  absence  of  reconnoissance 
in  other  directions,  nothing  could  have  been  more 
enterprising  or  systematic  than  General  Chaffee's 
exploration  of  his  own  theater  of  operations.  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  accompanying  him  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  and  derived  much  profit  from 
a  study  of  his  methods. 

"Leaving  his  staff  behind,  he  would  push  far 
to  the  front,  and,  finally  dismounting,  slip 
through  the  brush  with  the  rapidity  and 
noiselessness  of  an  Indian.  My  efforts  to 
follow  him  were  like  the  progress  of  a  band 
wagon  in  comparison,  but  I  gradually  acquired 
a  fairy-like  tread  and  a  stumbling  facility  in  sign 
language,  which  enabled  me  to  follow  the  Gen- 
eral without  too  loudly  advertising  our  pres- 
ence to  the  Spaniards.  On  one  occasion  we 
were  in  such  proximity  to  the  Spanish  pick- 
ets, that  we  could  hear  the  men  talking  over  their 
suppers,  and  until  I  began  to  speculate  on  the 
probable  efficiency  of  the  British  passport  that 
was  my  sole  defensive  weapon.     In  this  silent, 


88       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Indian  fashion,  General  Chaffee  explored  the  en- 
tire district,  and  was  the  only  man  in  the  army,  to 
whom  the  network  of  bridle  paths  around  El 
Caney  was  in  any  sense  familiar." 
In  another  case.  Colonel  Lee,  says : 
"Wishing  to  see  how  they  were  faring,  I 
crawled  through  the  hedge  into  the  field  be- 
yond, and  incidentally  into  such  a  hot  corner,  that 
I  readily  complied  with  General  Chaffee's  abrupt 
injunction,  'G^t  down  on  your  stc«nach,  sir.' 
Indeed,  I  was  distinctly  grateful  for  his  advice, 
but  I  could  not  fail  to  notice  that  he  was  regard- 
less of  it  himself.  Wherever  the  fire  was  thick- 
est he  strolled  about  unconcernedly,  a  half- 
smoked  cigar  between  his  teeth  and  an  expression 
of  exceeding  grimness  on  his  face.  The  situa- 
tion was  a  trying  one  for  the  nerves  of  the 
oldest  soldier,  and  some  of  the  younger  hands 
fell  back  from  the  firing  line  and  crept  towards 
the  road.  In  a  moment  the  General  pounced 
upon  them,  inquiring  their  destination  in  low, 
unhoneyed  accents,  and  then  taking  them  per- 
suasively by  the  elbow,  led  them  back  to  the  ex- 
treme front,  and  having  deposited  them  in  the 
firing  line,  stood  over  them  while  he  distributed 
a  few  last  words  of  pungent  and  sulphurous  ad- 
vice. Throughout  the  day  he  set  the  most  in- 
spiring example  to  his  men,  and  that  he  escaped 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       89 

unhurt  was  a  miracle.  One  bullet  clipped  a 
breast  button  off  his  coat,  another  passed  under 
his  shoulder  strap,  but  neither  touched  him,  and 
there  must  be  some  truth  in  the  old  adage  that 
'fortune  favors  the  brave.'  " 

General  Bell  has  been  bitterly  attacked  on  ac- 
count of  the  reconcentrative  policy  established 
by  him  to  end  the  war  in  Batangas,  and  was 
compared  to  Weyler,  to  the  Duke  of  Alba,  and 
to  various  others,  whose  record  in  history  is  some- 
what unsavory,  and  on  what  grounds?  Mere- 
ly because  he  carried  out  as  humane  a  policy 
as  could  possibly  be  imagined  and  succeeded 
in  pacifying  Batangas. 

The  concentration  policy  of  General  Weyler 
in  Cuba  was  right  and  justifiable,  had  arrange- 
ments been  made  for  the  feeding  and  care  of 
those  in  the  concentrated  zone,  but  no  arrange- 
ments of  such  a  nature  were  made,  and  the 
result  was  intense  suffering  and  in  many  cases 
death  from  starvation.  The  policy  carried  out 
by  General  Bell  was  very  different,  and  the  re- 
concentrado  camps  were  models  of  health 
and  sanitation,  every  man,  woman  and 
child  being  well  fed  and  cared  for,  so 
much  so,  that  when  Batangas  was  pacified,  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  the  people  could  be  made 
to  return  to  their  homes. 


90       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

The  case  of  General  Jacob  H.  Smith  is  one 
that  seems  to  be  particularly  hard.  He  was  sent 
to  Samar  to  quell  the  rebellion  there.  The 
natives  of  Samar  have,  all  through  Spanish 
times,  been  adverse  to  foreigners.  General 
Smith  arrived  there  immediately  after  the  mas- 
sacre at  Balangiga,  and  saw  the  atrocious  man- 
ner in  which  the  dead  had  been  mutilated.  He 
made  some  remarks  to  Major  Waller  in  the 
heat  of  passion,  which  he  probably  never 
really  intended.  In  fact.  Major  Waller  testi- 
fied that  he  did  not  suppose  that  General  Smith 
intended  that  he  should  kill  persons  who  were 
found  and  had  committed  no  offenses.  There 
is  no  doubt  but  that  General  Smith  did  say,  "kill 
and  burn;  make  Samar  a  howling  wilderness;" 
and  when  Waller  asked  him  what  age  limit,  he 
replied,  "Anything  over  ten  years  of  age."  Ma- 
jor Waller  testified  that  he  construed  this  to 
mean  anybody  over  that  age,  found  fighting  the 
Americans  with  arms  in  his  hands,  and  it  is  a 
well-known  fact,  that  the  boys  of  from  ten  to 
fifteen  were  among  the  most  useful  soldiers 
that  the  Filipinos  had,  not  only  as  spies  upon 
the  Americans,  but  also,  they  were  as  able  to 
handle  a  bolo  as  their  fathers  and  elder  brothers. 

The  idea  of  a  ten-year-old  boy,  with  a 
bolo,   fighting   a   man,   was   laughed   to   scorn 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       91 

by  the  Senate,  but  the  evidence  given  in  the 
Smith  trial  and  in  the  Waller  trial,  proved  that 
the  statement  was  nevertheless  correct,  and  it 
must  be  remembered  that  development  comes 
much  quicker  to  the  youth  of  a  tropical  land,  than 
it  does  to  those  born  and  bred  in  a  colder  clime. 
General  Smith  was  personally  active  through  the 
short  and  effective  campaign  that  followed,  and 
in  less  than  six  months,  at  comparatively  small 
cost  of  Filipino  life,  had  accomplished  what 
Spain,  in  all  her  history  in  the  Philippines,  with 
some  of  her  most  renowned  Generals  actively  in 
the  field,  had  failed  to  do :  Lucban  had  been  cap- 
tured and  Samar  had  been  pacified;  all  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  for  the  formal  surrender 
of  the  insurgent  forces  to  General  Smith. 

Naturally  every  one  looked  to  see  this  hero, 
this  conquering  General,  receive  the  reward  and 
promotion  that  was  due  him,  but  instead  even 
the  reward  of  receiving  the  surrender  of  those 
whom  he  had  conquered  was  denied  him,  and 
he  was  ordered  to  Manila,  to  give  evidence  in  the 
Waller  court  martial,  after  which  he  was  or- 
dered to  be  court  martialed  himself. 

That  the  words  that  he  had  uttered  were  in- 
discreet, there  is  no  question,  but  they  w^ere  ut- 
tered under  circumstances  and  at  a  time  when 
they  would  be  excusable  even  for  a  saint.     Such 


^      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

was  the  opinion  of  the  court  that  tried  him, 
but  its  members  had  to  do  their  duty,  which 
they  did  with  a  great  deal  of  regret,  and  he  was 
sentenced  to  be  reprimanded. 

It  is  not  the  author's  intention  to  criticise 
the  additional  punishment  that  was  placed  upon 
General  Smith,  by  the  President  of  the  Uuited 
States.  It  may  have  been  an  expression  of  the 
will  of  the  people,  but,  if  so,  the  people  were 
woefully  misinformed  as  to  the  character  of 
General  Smith  and  what  he  had  done. 

Portions  of  the  public  press  were  bitter  in 
their  condemnation  of  General  Smith,  and  they 
even  attributed  to  him  a  name  that  never  was 
his.  He  was  called  "hell  roaring"  Smith, 
which  was  a  name  given  to  another  General  of 
that  name,  who  died  several  years  ago.  To 
make  it  more  emphatic,  several  papers  altered 
it  to  "hell  roaring  Jake." 

A  great  deal  has  been  made  of  a  few  cases 
where  the  water  cure  was  administered,  gen- 
erally with  success,  so  far  as  obtaining  the  in- 
formation desired  was  concerned.  Major  Glenn, 
when  on  trial  in  Samar  before  a  court  of  which 
General  Fred  Grant  was  President,  had  there 
two  witnesses  who  had  formerly  been  police  of- 
ficers in  New  York,  who  were  to  testify  that  the 
water  cure  was  no  more  cruel  than  the  "third  de- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       93 

gree"  used  by  the  police  of  New  York,  at  the 
time  when  the  present  President  of  the  United 
States  and  General  Fred  Grant  himself,  were 
Police  Commissioners,  and  that  it  was  done  with 
their  knowledge  and  acquiescence.  This  evi- 
dence was  not  admitted  as  the  Court  decided 
they  would  not  hear  anything  outside  of  the 
Philippine  Islands.  Major  Glenn  was  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  a  month's  suspension  from 
duty  and  a  fine  of  fifty  dollars. 

Very  naturally,  among  members  of  a  large 
army,  there  have  from  time  to  time  unquestion- 
ably been  occasional  acts  of  inhumanity,  but  it 
is  doubtful  if  ever  a  campaign  of  such  a  na- 
ture was  conducted  with  so  much  kindness  and 
humanity. 

President  Roosevelt,  in  a  recent  speech,  said: 
"The  men  who  after  three  years  of  painful, 
harassing  and  incredibly  laborious  warfare  in 
the  tropical  jungles  against  a  treacherous  and 
savage  foe,  have  finally  brought  peace  and  or- 
der and  civil  government  in  the  Philippines, 
are  your  sons,  your  successors.  The  tempta- 
tion to  retaliate  for  the  fearful  cruelties  of  a 
savage  foe  is  very  great,  and  now  and  then  it 
has  been  yielded  to.  There  have  been  a  fewl, 
and  only  a  few,  such  instances  in  the  Philip- 


94       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

pines,  and  punishment  has  been  meted  out  with 
unflinching  justice  to  the  offenders." 

The  Commission  has  invariably  tried  to  show 
that  the  army  in  the  PhiHppines  was  unpopular, 
but  it  is  a  fact  that  there  are  several  hundred 
petitions  from  the  natives  in  various  parts  of 
the  Archipelago,  that  urge  and  implore  Gen- 
eral Chaffee  to  return  the  military  to  numbers 
of  places  to  protect  them  against  the  ladrones 
and  the  native  authorities  who  are  in  league  with 
the  ladrones. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Major  Gardener's  Report  Asked  for  by  the  Senate. — 
The  Report  Itself. — Thorough  Investigation  Or- 
dered.— Evidence  Proved  Report  a  Complete  Mis- 
statement of  Facts. — Gardener  Hoodwinked  by  Na- 
tives from  Beginning  to  End. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  in  re- 
cent Philippine  history,  was  the  report  of  Major 
Cornelius  Gardener,  acting  as  Civil  Governor 
of  the  Province  of  Tayabas,  which  it  has  since 
been  claimed,  he  considered  a  perfectly  confiden- 
tial report,  only  for  the  eyes  of  Governor  Taft 
and  the  Secretary  of  War.  Somehow  word  of 
this  report  reached  the  Senate,  and  it  was  called 
for  in  Congress.  The  following  is  the  report 
as  sent  by  Major  Gardener  to  Governor  Taft: 


96       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Province  of  Tayabas,  P.  I., 

December  i6,  1901. 
The  Civil  Governor  of  the  Philippine  Islands, 

Manila. 
Sir: 

As  Governor,  I  have  the  honor  to  make  the 
following  report  as  to  the  political  and  other 
conditions  in  this  Province,  and  a  short  review 
of  its  history  since  American  occupation. 

I  came  to  Tayabas  Province  with  my  regiment, 
the  30th  U.S.V.,  on  February  4th,  1900,  and 
immediately  occupied,  under  orders  from  Gen- 
eral Schwan,  its  principal  towns. 

The  insurgent  troops  then  occupying  the  Prov- 
ince, consisted  of  nine  companies  of  one  hun- 
dred and  six  men  each,  about  two-thirds  of  them 
armed  with  rifles.  Besides  the  insurgent  troops 
proper,  all  the  male  inhabitants  of  suitable  ages, 
were  organized  into  militia  or  reserves  under 
the  cabegas  or  lieutenants  of  barrios.  These 
were  armed  with  bolos  and  a  few  with  rifles. 

The  insurgent  troops  proper  did  not  act  as  a 
single  body,  but  were  scattered  throughout  the 
Province,  acting  in  single  companies  or  bat- 
talions. The  militia  or  reserves  occupied  the 
barrios  (villages)  in  small  squads  and  wore  no 
uniform. 

A  vigorous  campaign  was  at  once  organized 
against  insurgents  in  arms,  with  the  troops  act- 
ing under  positive  orders  to  shoot  no  unarmed 
natives  and  to  burn  no  houses  except  barracks. 

Looting  was  prohibited  under  the  strictest  pen- 
alties; company  and  other  commanders  were  or- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       97 

dered  to  pay  for  everything  taken  for  neces- 
sity or  bought  from  natives. 

When  the  American  troops  first  occupied  the 
Province,  the  towns,  by  order  of  the  insurgent 
commander,  were  entirely  depopulated,  and  all 
the  people  lived  in  the  woods  and  scattered  vil- 
lages, called  barrios. 

A  proclamation  was  circulated  in  Spanish  and 
Tagalo  by  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Amer- 
ican troops,  setting  forth  the  intention  of  the 
American  people  towards  the  people  in  these  Is- 
lands, and  promising  protection  of  the  lives  and 
property  of  all  peacefully  disposed  persons. 

The  troops  were  ordered  to  make  friends  with 
the  people  wherever  possible,  and  little  by  lit- 
tle the  towns  were  repopulated.  Many  native 
priests  assisted  greatly  in  rehabilitating  the  towns 
and  schools  were  at  once  started,  in  which  de- 
tailed American  soldiers  taught  the  English  lan- 
guage. 

The  larger  towns  only  were  at  first  garri- 
soned, it  being  impracticable  for  want  of  suffi- 
cient troops  to  garrison  all  of  the  twenty-three 
pueblos  or  towns. 

A  field  column  composed  at  different  times  of 
from  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  was 
organized,  the  soldiers  being  selected  from  the 
different  garrisons  and  commanded  by  able  of- 
ficers. This  column  was  kept  in  the  field  for 
six  months,  moving  from  point  to  point  in  the 
Province,  doing  most  of  its  marching  and  at- 
tacking by  night. 

The  garrisons  kept  the  country  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  clear  of  armed  insurgents.     Nearly 


08       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

all  the  Spanish  prisoners  from  the  Provinces  of 
Cavite,  Laguna  and  Batangas  had  been  scat- 
tered throughout  this  Province,  and  farmed  out 
for  safe  keeping  in  lots  of  three  and  four  to 
every  cabega  or  barrio. 

The  Province  is  densely  wooded  and  very 
mountainous,  and  to  liberate  these  prisoners,  was 
a  very  difficult  matter,  because  upon  the  ap- 
proach of  American  troops,  the  prisoners  would 
be  rushed  up  and  hidden  in  the  mountains.  By 
November  of  1900,  over  nine  hundred  had  been 
liberated  or  had  escaped  to  our  lines,  and  by 
December  30th  none  remained  captive. 

In  a  number  of  severe  engagements,  the  in- 
surgent troops  were  defeated  and  their  organiza- 
tion entirely  broken  up.  Most  of  the  arms  were 
either  captured  or  delivered  up,  and  by  January 
30th,  1901,  by  reason  of  constant  patrolling,  there 
was  no  organized  insurgent  body  in  the  Prov- 
ince. 

The  attitude  of  the  people  of  the  towns  at 
that  time,  was  all  that  could  be  desired,  but  the 
people  of  the  barrios  or  villages  were  still  timid 
and  uncertain  of  American  intentions;  the  more 
so,  because  these  had  been  longer  under  the 
influence  of  the  insurgent  leaders  and  had  been 
formerly  most  cruelly  treated  by  the  Spaniards. 

The  troops  that  succeeded  the  volunteers  did 
not  for  three  months  keep  up  the  scouting  and 
patrolling  system,  and  a  new  force  of  some  two 
hundred  insurgents  was  organized  on  the  bor- 
der line  of  the  Province,  armed  with  guns  that 
had  been  hidden  or  brought  in  from  Laguna 
Province.      This    force    was,  however,  in  May, 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       99 

1901,  induced  to  surrender  and  that  ended  the 
insurrection  in  Tayabas. 

The  treatment  of  the  peaceful  natives  by  the 
incoming  troops  was,  however,  much  different 
from  what  it  had  been  at  first.  The  Provincial 
Government  was  organized,  on  March  12th,  tqoi. 
By  July,  of  that  year,  all  of  the  twenty-three 
pueblos  had  been  organized  into  municipal  gov- 
ernments, with  the  single  excej  tion  of  the  pueblo 
of  Dolores,  which  pueblo  had  been  burned  by 
order  of  General  Hall  and  there  was  no  town 
in  which  to  organize  a  government,  every  build- 
ing having  been  burned  in  ihe  town  proper,  ex- 
cept part  of  the  church.  Five  pueblos  had  been 
organized  prior  to  March  ist,  1901,  under  G.O. 
40. 

The  revenues  in  all  the  pueblos  have  been  col- 
lected regularly  since  organization,  and  on  No- 
vember I  St  of  this  year  schools  were  in  operation 
in  every  organized  pueblo,  and  English  was  be- 
ing taught  by  American  teachers  in  every  pueblo 
except  three. 

A  complete  and  accurate  census  of  the  Prov- 
ince has  been  taken,  showing  an  increase  of 
15,000  since  the  census  of  1891,  a  copy  of  which 
is  herewith  enclosed. 

A  careful  vaccination  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion has  been  made,  so  that  now  no  case  of  small- 
pox is  reported.  Twenty-five  miles  of  roads  have 
been  macadamized  and  repaired.  Several  bridges 
have  been  built  and  repaired. 

A  Court  of  First  Instance  has  been  estab- 
lished, justices  of  the  peace  and  auxiliary  jus- 
tices have  been  appointed  in  every  pueblo,  all 


100     As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

of  which  courts  are  presided  over  by  natives, 
to  the  great  satisfaction  of  every  one,  because 
there  has  as  yet  occurred  no  instance  of  mis- 
carriage of  justice. 

Three  Americans,  the  Governor,  the  Provincial 
Treasurer  and  Supervisor  are  the  only  Americans 
holding  office  in  the  Province. 

I  have  been  long  of  the  opinion  that  our  prin- 
cipal efforts  in  the  matter  of  education  should 
be  directed  towards  establishing  schools  in  the 
barrios,  where  the  masses  of  the  people  live.  In 
the  towns  proper,  the  people  are  fairly  well  edu- 
cated and  informed,  but  in  the  barrios  there 
prevails  the  densest  ignorance  and  not  over  five 
percent  of  the  people  can  read  and  write. 

The  people  of  the  barrios,  while  very  observant 
of  their  religious  duties,  and  a  moral,  hard-work- 
ing population,  are  very  ignorant  and  supersti- 
tious and  easily  imposed  upon,  for  personal  gains, 
by  priests  religiously  and  insurgent  sympathizers 
politically,  and,  I  have  therefore,  in  everv  way 
encouraged  the  establishment  of  barrios  schools, 
where  children  could  be  taught  elementary  knowl- 
edge, by  native  teachers  in  the  Tagalo  language. 

At  present  there  are  of  such  over  a  hundred 
in  operation  in  this  Province,  the  teachers  being 
paid  by  the  pueblos. 

The  adjacent  Province  of  Batangas  on  the 
west  and  Laguna  on  the  north,  being  during  all 
this  time  still  more  or  less  in  a  state  of  insur- 
rection, this  Province,  in  the  month  of  October 
last,  was  invaded  bv  a  small  fcce  of  insurgents 
trom  one  of  these  Provinces,  which  force  occupied 
and  roamed  at  will  in  the  three  most  westerly 


MAJOR-GENERAL  LOYD  WHEATON,  U.  S.  A. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.     101 

pueblos,  Tiaon,  Candelaria  and  Dolores,  and  did 
some  forced  recruiting  in  the  barrios  of  these 
pueblos,  also  collecting  from  the  people  of  the 
barrios  by  force,  contributions  of  money  and  rice. 

Owing  to  this  invasion,  the  whole  Province  is 
now  again  practically  under  military  rule,  and  is 
being  treated  as  an  insurgent  Province,  with  civil 
procedure  practically,  and  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
actually  suspended. 

Tulisans,  or  highway  robbers,  had  always  in 
Spanish  times  been  a  disturbing  element  in  Taya- 
bas,  and,  because  of  the  mountainous  nature  of 
the  Province,  had  never  been  entirely  suppressed. 

A  band  of  these,  composed  of  the  criminal  ele- 
ment of  the  Province,  and  armed  with  about 
sixty  rifles,  but  under  color  of  being  patriots, 
have  in  the  last  two  months  been  levying  con- 
tributions in  some  of  the  southerly  mountainous 
pueblos  of  the  Province  and  attacking  towns. 
After  a  two-years'  experience  in  this  Province,  I 
am  convinced  that  the  Tulisan  element  can  only 
be  successfully  operated  against  by  constabulary 
or  native  troops,  assisted  by  the  native  police 
of  the  towns,  and  that  whatever  insurgents,  as 
such,  there  still  remain  in  the  Province,  had  best 
now  be  operated  against  by  natives  and  not  by 
U.  S.  soldiers,  and  for  this  reason :  In  the  first 
place  a  force  of  three  hundred  men  or  more  com- 
posed of  natives  of  this  Province  can  easily  be 
recruited  here,  which,  if  fairly  well  treated  and 
regularly  paid  and  properly  uniformed,  could 
be  depended  upon  to  be  loyal  to  its  officers  and 
the  United  States.  Since  I  have  been  Governor,  I 
have  traveled  all   over  this   Province   with   no 


102     As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

other  escort  than  nativ^es.  Secondly,  as  Civil 
Governor,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  say  that  it  is  my 
firm  conviction  that  the  U.  S.  troops  should  at 
the  earliest  opportunity  be  concentrated  in  one 
or  two  garrisons  if  it  is  thought  desirable  that 
the  good  sentiment  and  loyalty  which  formerly 
existed  to  the  U.  S.  Government  among  the  peo- 
ple of  this  Province  should  be  conserved  and  en- 
couraged. 

Being  in  close  touch  with  the  people,  having 
visited  all  the  pueblos  one  or  more  times,  hav- 
ing lived  with  them  in  their  homes.  I  Know  that 
such  a  sentiment  once  existed.  Of  late,  by  rea- 
son of  the  conduct  of  the  troops,  such  as  the  ex- 
tensive burning  of  barrios  in  trying  to  lay  waste 
to  the  country  so  that  the  insurgents  cannot  oc- 
cupy it,  the  torturing  of  the  natives  by  so-called 
water  cure  and  other  methods,  in  order  to  ob- 
tain information,  the  harsh  treatment  of  natives 
generally,  and  the  failure  of  inexperienced  lately 
appointed  lieutenants  commanding  posts  to  dis- 
tinguish between  those  who  are  friendly  and 
those  unfriendly,  and  treating  every  native  as 
if  he  were,  whether  or  no,  an  insurrecto  at  heart, 
this  favorable  sentiment  above  referred  to.  is 
being  fast  destroyed  and  a  deep  hatred  towards 
us  engendered.  If  these  things  need  to  be 
done,  they  had  best  be  done  by  native  troops, 
so  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  will  not 
be  credited  therewith. 

Almost  zvithoiit  exception,  soldiers  and  also 
many  officers,  refer  to  the  natives  in  th^eir  pres- 
ence as  "niggers"  and  natives  are  beginning  to 
understand  what  the  word  "nigger"  means.      ., 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      103 

The  course  now  being  pursued  in  this  Prov- 
ince and  in  the  Provinces  of  Batangas,  Laguna 
and  Saniar,  is  in  my  opinio  sozving  the  seeds 
for  a  perpetual  revolution,  or,  at  least,  prepar- 
ing the  people  of  these  Provinces  to  rise  up 
against  us  in  revolution  hereafter,  whenever  a 
good  opportunity  offers.  Under  present  con- 
ditions the  political  situation  in  this  Province 
is  slowly  retrograding,  and  the  American  sen- 
timent is  decreasing  and  we  are  daily  making 
permanent  enemies. 

In  the  course  above  referred  to,  troops  make 
no  distinction  often  between  the  property  of 
those  persons  who  are  insurgents  and  insur- 
gent sympathizers,  and  the  property  of  those  who 
have  heretofore  risked  their  lives  by  being  loyal 
to  the  United  States  and  giving  us  information 
against  their  countrymen  in  arms.  Often  every 
house  in  a  barrio  is  burned. 

In  my  opinion,  the  small  number  of  irrecon- 
cilable insurgents  still  in  arms,  although  admit- 
tedly difficult  to  catch,  does  not  justify  the  means 
employed,  especially  when  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  sufferings  that  must  be  undergone  by 
the  innocent  and  the  effect  upon  the  relations  with 
these  people  hereafter. 

The  work  of  the  Philippine  Commission  and 
the  laws  that  have  been  enacted  by  it,  are  every- 
where favorably  commented  upon  by  the  natives. 
The  efforts  being  made  for  the  general  educa- 
tion of  the  people  are  appreciated  by  all.  The 
provincial  government  and  the  municipal  govern- 
ments established,  are  slowly  bringing  order  out 


104     As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

of  chaos  and  anarchy,  and  there  begins  to  be 
visible  everywhere  in  this  Province  progress  and 
prosperity.  True  loyalty  and  contentment  can 
only  come  under  a  benign  civil  government. 

The  attitude  of  the  army,  thereby  meaning 
ftwst  of  its  officers  and  soldiers,  is,  however,  de- 
cidedly hostile  to  the  promncial  and  municipal 
goT/ernment  in  this  Province,  and  to  civil  govern- 
ment in  these  Islands  in  general.  In  Manila  es- 
pecially it  is  intensely  so,  even  among  the  higher 
officers.  The  work  of  the  Commission  in  the 
establishment  of  provhtcial  governments,  is  ridi- 
culed, even  in  the  presence  of  the  natives.  It 
is  openly  stated  that  tlie  army  should  remain  in 
charge  for  the  next  twenty  years.  Outrages 
committed  by  officers  or  soldiers  against  natives 
in  an  organised  municipality  or  Province,  when 
reported  by  the  presidente  or  governor,  to  the 
military  authorities,  are  often  not  punished.  This 
in  my  opinion,  is  unfortunate,  because  loyal  na- 
tives begin  to  fear  that  local  self  government 
promised  them,  will  not  last  long  and  that  any 
slight  disturbance  in  a  Proznnce  may  at  any 
time  be  made  the  pretext  to  again  place  it  under 
military  rule,  and  this  is  just  the  thing  the  in- 
surgents at  heart,  most  desire. 

It  has  been  stated  that  a  Filipino  or  any 
Oriental  does  not  appreciate  just  or  kindly  treat- 
ment, and  that  he  considers  it  an  evidence  of 
weakness,  and  that  severe  and  hars^  me^snT-es 
are  the  only  ones  that  are  permanently  effective 
with  Filipinos.  I  have  found  that  just  and  kind 
treatment,  uniform  and  continued,  is  the  only 
way  by  which  those  people  can  be  made  per- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       105 

manently  our  friends  and  satisfied  with  United 
States  sovereignty. 

Having  been  stationed  six  years  on  the  Rio 
Grande,  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  natives 
of  the  State  of  Tamaulipas,  Mexico,  and  while 
stationed  in  the  Province  of  Santa  Clara,  Cuba. 
I  visited  every  town  in  that  Province,  and  was 
able  to  observe  the  intelligence  and  education 
there.  I  believe  that  the  people  of  Tayabas  Prov- 
ince are  in  every  way  superior  in  education,  in- 
telligence and  civilization  to  the  people  of  Ta- 
maulipas or  Santa  Clara. 

As  an  officer  of  the  army,  I  regret  that  my  duty 
as  Civil  Governor  of  this   Province  impels  me 
to  state  the  attitude  of  the  majority  of  my  fel- 
low officers  towards  civil  government  in  the  Is- 
lands and  its  effect  upon  the  people,  but  I  feel 
that  the  interests  of  the  Government  involved  and 
the  future  ol  this  people,  for  whose  welfare  we 
are  responsible,  are  of  such  vast  importance  that 
I  ought  to  report  things  as  I  see  and  know  them, 
in  order  that  my  civil   superiors   may  be  able 
to  order  intelligently  what  the  situation  demands. 
Very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 
Cornelius  Gardener, 
Major,  13th  Infantry,  U.S.A. 

When  this  report  became  public  an  investigfa- 
tion  was  immediately  ordered  and  a  court,  of 
which  General  Wint  was  the  presiding  officer,  sat 
for  some  months  investigating  the  matter.  Some 
of  the  evidence  taken  was  startling  in  the  ex- 


106      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

treme,  as  showing  how  absolutely  and  utterly 
Major  Gardener  was  fooled  by  the  people  as  to 
the  conditions  of  his  own  Province.  Insurgent 
generals  testified  that  they  marched  in  and  out  of 
Tayabas  with  large  bodies  of  their  troops,  dur- 
ing the  time  covered  by  the  report,  and  General 
Cailles  testified  that  on  one  occasion  he  en- 
tered a  towTi  and,  in  the  public  square  executed  a 
number  of  men  for  treason  to  the  Philippine  Re- 
public. General  Malvar  testified  that  Tayabas, 
during  all  the  troubles  in  Batangas  that  only  re- 
cently have  ended,  was  used  by  him  as  a  base  of 
supplies,  and  that  the  insurrecto  agents  were  the 
presidentes  appointed  by  Major  Gardener  himself. 
The  investigation,  if  it  elucidated  nothing  else, 
should  certainly  force  the  present  governors  of 
Provinces,  those  that  are  Americans,  to  endeavor 
to  discover  the  state  of  their  Provinces  by  some 
other  means  than  that  attempted  by  Major  Gar- 
dener. During  the  investigation,  Major  Gar- 
dener apparently  proved  nothing  of  what  he  had 
alleged,  and,  it  is  generally  believed  alleged  in 
good  faith.  He  is  recognized  as  an  enthusiast 
on  the  subject  of  the  Filipino.  In  his  opin- 
ion the  Filipino  is  more  intelligent  than  the  Mex- 
ican, the  Cuban  or  the  natives  of  any  of  the  South 
American  republics.  He  considers  them  the  most 
loyal,  trustworthy,  honest  and  reliable  of  men, 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      107 

and  he  would  invariably  take  the  word  of  a  Fil- 
ipino before  that  of  any  white  man. 

The  investigation  developed  the  information 
that  during  his  entire  term  as  Governor  up  to 
the  time  when  the  report  was  presented  to  Gov- 
ernor Taft,  the  whole  Province,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  one  town,  was  organized 
by  the  insurrectos,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases 
the  American  municipal  and  insurrecto  agents 
were  the  same  persons,  and  where  this  was  not 
the  case,  they  worked  in  perfect  harmony  with 
one  another. 

Both  in  1900  and  1901,  the  only  places  not 
under  insurrecto  control  were  the  towns  garri- 
soned by  American  troops. 

No  one,  in  1900  and  1901,  ever  traveled  with- 
out an  armed  escort,  including  Major  Gardener 
himself.  It  was  a  state  of  guerilla  warfare  in 
the  Province  until  the  end  of  General  Bell's  opera- 
tions. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  get  at  the  complete 
truth  of  Major  Gardener's  wholesale  charges,  and 
the  court  was  moved  from  Tayabas  to  Batangas, 
and  from  Batangas  to  Manila,  so  that  witnesses 
could  be  obtained.  He  did  not  give  the  names 
of  witnesses  to  General  Chaffee  or  to  the  Board, 
for  the  reason  that  he  did  not  have  any  to  give, 
to  prove  his  charges,  and  when  he  went  down  to 


108    As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Tayabas  at  the  commencement  of  the  inquiry, 
he  had  to  grope  around  for  help. 

Major  Gardener  has  admitted  that  he  was  very 
much  mistaken  in  the  conditions  existing  in  his 
Province,  and  has  tried  to  excuse  his  report 
on  the  ground  of  haste.  It  is  the  almost  unan- 
imous opinion  of  every  official,  both  civil  and 
military,  that  the  statements  contained  in  the 
report  were  either  false  or  very  much  colored. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Facts  Concerning  the  Real  Condition  in  the  Provinces 
by  a  Former  Civil  Treasurer  of  Nueva  Ecija. 

There  have  been  occasions  when  the  author- 
ities of  the  civil  government  have  fallen  out 
among  themselves.  Most  cases,  the  public,  as 
a  rule,  hear  little  about.  In  the  case  of  Amzi 
B.  Kelly,  Treasurer  of  the  Province  of  Nueva 
Ecija,  a  most  interesting  tale  was  unfolded  to  the 
public,  interesting  as  showing  the  real  opinion 
of  those  at  work  in  the  Provinces  under  the  civil 
government,  and  while  their  salaries  are  de- 
pendent upon  it,  they  are  not  only  loyal  and 
faithful  servants  of  the  Government,  but  make 
glowing  reports  which  they  know  will  please 
the  Commission,  but  which  in  many  instances, 
the  majority  of  people  not  belonging  in  Govern- 
ment employ,  know  to  be  either  false  or  mis- 
represented. Mr.  Kelly  is  evidently  an  honest 
man,  if  he  is  somewhat  indiscreet.     He  discov- 


110      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ered  what  he  considered  to  be  a  deliberate  fraud 
on  the  part  of  the  native  Governor,  and  public- 
ly charged  him  with  it,  reporting  it  to  the  Com- 
mission. 

The  Governor  of  the  Province  being  an 
influential  man,  the  Commission  did  not  de- 
sire openly  to  take  any  action.  They  thought  it 
better  under  the  circumstances  to  remove  Mr. 
Kelly  to  some  other  sphere  of  duty,  but  Mr. 
Kelly  strenuously  objected  to  being  transferred 
and  demanded  a  full  investigation  Sn  public. 
Thereupon  the  Commission  removed  him  from 
office.  Mr.  Kelly  went  to  Manila  and  wrote 
out  his  views  on  the  subject  for  the  public  press, 
and  very  interesting  they  proved  to  be,  a  thor- 
ough exposure  of  things  connected  with  the  civil 
government,  by  one  of  its  employees.  Of  course, 
allowances  must  be  made  for  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Kelly  was  bitterly  indignant  at  the  treatment 
he  received,  and  his  views  are  probably  some- 
what biased,  but  there  is  such  a  stamp  of  truth 
in  all  of  it,  that,  making  due  allowance  for  ex- 
cessive indignation,  Kelly's  article  should  be  ac- 
cepted entire.  It  was  published  in  the  Manila 
"American,"  a  week  or  so  after  his  dismissal  from 
office,  that  paper  taking  considerable  risk  of  be- 
ing charged  with  sedition  and  treason.  Th&  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy  of  the  article: 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       Ill 

Amzi  B.  Kielly,  ex-Treasurer  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  Nueva  Ecija,  believes  that  the  Gov- 
ernment is  making  a  mistake  in  its  methods  of 
governing  the  Islands.  In  an  open  letter,  he 
points  out  where  he  believes  the  Government's 
policy  is  weak,  and  gives  some  good  advice  to 
the  Civil  Commission.  He  brings  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  the  grave  charges  which  he 
is  prepared  to  prove  against  Governor  Santos 
of  Nueva  Ecija,  who  was  retained  while 
the  charges  were  impending.  The  letter, 
together  with  affidavits  in  support  of  the  charges 
against  Santos,  follows: 

Office  of  Amzi  B.  Kelly, 
Attorney  at  Law. 

AN  OPEN  LETTER 

To  President  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  the  Amer- 
ican Public ;  also  the  Acting  Civil  Governor,  Hon- 
orable Luke  E.  Wright  and  the  Members  of  the 
United  States  Philippine  Commission,  who  on 
May  i6th,  1902,  dismissed  me  as  Treasurer  of 
the  Province  of  Nueva  Ecija,  for  the  reason  that 
I  had  made  charges  affecting  the  character  and 
integrity  of  Epifanio  de  los  Santos,  Provincial 


112      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Governor  of  Nueva  Ecija,  and  that  I  then  and 
there  branded  him  as  an  infamous  rascal,  and 
unworthy  to  longer  continue  as  Provincial 
Governor  and  stood  ready  and  eager  to  prove 
my  assertions. 

The  object  of  this  letter,  is  to  right  a  wrong, 
vindicate  the  honor  of  my  country  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  people  of  this  whole  Archipelago, 
especially  the  ignorant  and  the  poor,  and  I  in- 
tend to  fearlessly,  frankly  and  honestly  explain 
through  the  press,  through  letter,  and  if  neces- 
sary, in  the  lecture  hall  and  upon  the  stump, 
the  true  conditions,  as  they  exist  in  the  Prov- 
inces in  the  Philippine  Islands,  the  terrible  con- 
dition of  the  poor  people  and  the  unwise  policy 
and  acts  of  the  present  United  States  Philippine 
Commissioners,  and  their  apparent  total  disre- 
gard of  the  rights,  liberties  and  good  of  the 
masses  of  the  people,  to  turn  full  upon  their 
heads  the  weight  of  their  bad  judginent;  and 
to  show  up  in  all  its  ridiculousness  their  weak 
policy.  And  further  to  show  to  all  the  world 
that  when  I  stated  that  de  los  Santos,  Provincial 
Governor  of  Nueva  Ecija,  was  a  rascal  and  cor- 
rupt official,  and  that  his  retention  in  office  and 
my  dismissal  was  a  fatal  blow  at  good  govern- 
ment, a  bad  example  for  the  people  of  this  whole 
Archipelago  and  a  disgrace  to  the  name  of  Amer- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      113 

ica,  that  I  spoke  the  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth,  so  help  me  God.  And,  I  now  add 
to  that  statement,  that  such  unwise  acts  by  the 
members  of  the  Commission  may  be  the  begin- 
ning of  their  end.  Not  of  the  end  of  a  strong 
minded  Commission,  but  the  end  of  the  present 
apparently  weak  uninformed  members  of  the 
Philippine  Commission  of  this  day.  I  unhes- 
itatingly concede  to  Luke  E.  Wright,  Bernard 
Moses,  Henry  C.  Ide  and  Dean  C.  Worcester, 
honor  and  integrity.  But  they  have  not  left 
the  impression  that  they  are  men  of  good  judg- 
ment and  strong  mind,  needed  at  this  critical  day 
and  time  to  govern  these  Islands. 

From  out  your  palace  windows  you  view'  these 
Islands.  Those  who  meet  your  gaze— clad  in 
white  collars,  white  clothes  and  patent  leather 
shoes — sail  swiftly  by  in  carromattas,  calesins 
and  victorias.  In  your  office  and  in  the  legisla- 
tive hall  you  meet  only  the  bowing  and  scraping, 
college-bred  hombres,  those  who  have  done  more 
than  all  else  to  drench  this  land  with  blood, 
and  to-day  still  stand  masters  of  the  situation. 

Come  with  me  into  the  Provinces.  Visit  the 
barrios  and  the  cocoanut  groves,  the  rice  fields 
and  the  fishing  ponds, — there  you  will  find  the 
masses  and  majority  of  the  people  in  this  land. 
There  you  will  find  the  hombres  behind  the  guns. 


114      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Those  with  whom  you  deal  are  the  men  behind 
these  hombres, — have  a  talk  with  these  old 
bullies, — they  know  naught  of  Spanish,  less  of 
English ;  honest,  ignorant,  timid,  poor,  barefooted 
and  ignobly  clad.  For  three  hundred  years  they 
have  been  dominated  over  by  this  sace'  rico  ele- 
ment ;  have  obeyed  without  a  murmur  their  every 
command,  perjured  their  souls  in  hell  at  their  be- 
hest, sacrificed  their  daughters  upon  the  unclean 
altar  of  lust.  Why?  They  knew  that  to  refuse 
meant  prison,  torture  and  death,  and  the  same 
condition  exists  to-day,  and  that  too,  under  the 
banner  of  fredom.  Listen  and  I'll  prove  it.  Not 
with  words  from  my  own  lips,  but  with  quota- 
tions from  the  sworn  statements  of  seven  of  these 
poor,  ignorant  people,  and  which  you  could  have 
learned  by  an  investigation  of  ten  minutes,  or 
taken  the  word  of  an  honest  American. 

I  hold  in  my  possession  the  sworn  affidavits 
of  six  poor  men  and  one  illiterate  woman,  whose 
names  are :  Candelaria  de  los  Angeles,  Norverto 
Cajucom,  Pablo  Mauricio,  IMariano  Castro,  Es- 
teban  Hilario,  Isaac  Cauman  and  Cecilio  Hur- 
gues,  residents  of  Cabanatuan,  to  the  effect  that 
this  man,  whom  you  call  the  Hon.  Epifanio  de 
los  Santos,  and  whose  character  and  integrity 
you  dismissed  me  for  assailing,  while  Provincial 
Treasurer  of  this  Province,  forced  them  to  come 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      115 

into  San  Isidro,  and  in  his  residence  sign  a 
forged  and  false  will.  They  will  tell  you,  too, 
under  oath,  that  he  wrote  on  a  slip  of  paper  for 
each  of  them  what  he  knew  to  be  an  infamous 
lie,  and  told  them,  if  they  did  not  swear  it  was 
the  truth,  before  the  Judge  of  First  Instance, 
that  he  would  place  them  in  jail.  They  will  tell 
you  also  tliat  during  this  last  month  of  May, 
while  I  was  in  Manila,  working  for  the  better- 
ment of  these  people,  and  his  dismissal,  that  he, 
as  Governor  of  this  Province,  was  instructing 
them  and  attempting  by  intimidation  to  again  get 
them  to  perjure  their  souls  in  hell,  by  swearing 
that  there  was  but  one  will,  and  that 
was  the  false  one  which  he  made,  or  had  made. 
That  ignorant  old  woman  will  tell  you  under 
oath  that  she  paid  him  800  pesos  for  "paper, 
ink  and  trouble,"  that  she  gave  him  in  his  hands 
600  pesos,  and  gave  to  Ramon  Tombo,  his  hire- 
ling, 200  pesos;  she  will  further  tell  you  that 
he  told  her  and  these  old  hombres  that  this  forged 
document  was  nothing  but  a  copy,  and  that  there 
was  no  harm  in  what  they  were  doing.  She  will 
also  tell  you  that  she  employed  a  Filipino  law- 
yer in  Manila  to  defend  her,  and  that  he  came 
to  this  Province  supposedly  in  her  interest  and 
that  he  instructed  her  to  swear  that  there  was 
but  one  will — while  he  held  in  his  hand  two, 


116      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

the  original  and  the  false.  She  will  tell  you 
that  at  ten  o'clock,  one  night,  under  guard,  she 
went  to  the  residence  of  Amzi  B.  Kelly,  and  in 
the  presence  of  his  wife  and  Mr.  Wilson,  told 
him  in  broken  Spanish  that  she  had  "much  sus- 
picion" for  her  lawyer,  and,  placing  her  two 
fingers  together,  timidly  showed  us  how  he  and 
Santos  stood. 

These  old  hombres  will  tell  you  that  they  too 
had  employed  this  same  attorney — an  ex-school- 
mate of  Santos — ^but  when  he  instructed  them  to 
swear  there  was  but  one  will,  when  they  knew 
that  they  had  signed  two  as  witnesses,  and  that 
they,  too,  had  "much  suspicion,"  and  denounced 
in  open  court,  trembling  with  fear,  they  told  the 
Judge  of  First  Instance  that  they  wanted  an 
American  attorney  to  defend  them. 

Did  you  say  "Hurry  along,"  gentlemen?  No. 
Come  to  my  residence,  in  San  Isidro,  and  I  will 
show  you  a  sacred  last  will  and  testament  made 
by  old  Petra  Marian,  dated,  July  27th,  1900. 
It  is  signed  by  ten  people  as  witnesses.  Right 
by  the  side  of  that  I  will  place  before  your  eyes 
the  copy,  or  false  will  made  by,  or  by  the  direc- 
tion of  your  beloved  Santos,  and  dated,  March 
4th,  T901.  It  is  signed  by  only  six  people- as  wit- 
nesses, and  one  of  these  did  not  sign  the  original. 

"Hurry  along !"  No,  be  patient ;  that  is  not  all. 


»^f. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       117 

I  will  show  you  a  death  certificate  signed  by  the 
padre  of  Cabanatuan,  and  bearing  his  seal,  which 
states  that  this  poor  old  woman  died  July  28th, 

1900,  and  was  buried  and  received  all  the  sacra- 
ments, July  29th,  1900.  Right  by  the  side  of 
that,  I  will  place  another  death  certificate,  signed 
by  this  same  padre,  but  without  his  seal,  and 
doubtless  made  by  Santos  or  his  hirelings,  stat- 
ing that  this  same  old  woman  died  March  7th, 

1901,  and  was  buried  and  received  all  the  sacra- 
ments March  8th,  1901.  Now  what  do  you  think 
of  that?  This  old  woman  died,  was  buried,  and 
received  all  the  sacraments  in  July,  1900.  Then 
she  waited  a  year  and  went  through  the  same 
performance.  In  addition  to  that,  July,  1900, 
she  made  her  will,  died  and  was  buried,  remained 
in  mother  earth  for  a  year;  then  arose,  made 
a  copy  of  this  will  and  dated  it,  March  4th, 
1 90 1.  That's  what  Santos  says,  and  as  the  pa- 
pers were  gotten  from  his  hands,  it  must  be  so, 
and  Santos  is  an  "honorable  man"  so  it  appears, 
says  Luke  E.  Wright  and  the  members  of  the 
Commission.  After  seeing  this,  there  is  but  one 
of  three  conclusions,  namely:  Nueva  Ecija  has 
produced  a  remarkable  old  woman  or  a  more  re- 
markable old  padre;  or  a  most  remarkable  old 
governor,  and  I'm  inclined  that  the  latter  con- 
clusion will  hit  the  nail  square  on  the  head.  Now, 


118    As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

is  not  this  a  nasty  mess?  Haven't  you  discern- 
ment enough  to  see  that  in  your  bunglesome  and 
weak  endeavor  to  keep  peace,  you  have  been  the 
cause  of  subordinating  peace? 

And  what  you  have  read  is  not  all  of  his  ras- 
cality, but  God  knows,  it  is  enough  at  present. 
Did  some  one  say,  "Why  don't  you  swear  out 
a  warrant  for  his  arrest?"  No!!!  As  repre- 
sentative of  the  civil  government,  I  did  that 
in  this  Province,  and  had  put  on  trial,  before  this 
Filipino  judge  as  guilty  a  man  as  ever  faced 
the  bar  of  Justice.  He  was  turned  foot  loose. 
No,  I  do  not  wish  to  have  him  put  in  jail.  It 
might  interfere  with  his  term  as  governor.  I 
wish  him  to  reign  in  all  his  rottenness  so  the 
little  children  of  this  Province  can  point  their 
innocent  little  fingers  at  him,  and  exclaim:  "Be- 
hold there  is  our  governor,  the  ward  of  the  Fed- 
eral party,  the  pet  of  the  Commission  and  the 
blot  of  infamy  upon  the  cheek  of  Columbia." 

This  is  the  same  class  of  hombre  and  his  in- 
famous associates,  who  for  three  centuries  have 
intimidated,  abused,  oppressed  and  enslaved  the 
masses  of  these  people;  the  ones  who  in  the  in- 
surrection against  the  Americans,  placed  arms 
into  the  hands  of  these  ignorant  hombres  and  by 
sheer  force  of  intimidation  and  threats  of  tor- 
ture compelled  them  to  fight  and  die  like  rats 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       119 

in  the  trenches  before  my  countrymen.  I  say 
to  you  to-day,  that  if  insurrection,  revolt  and  re- 
bellion against  the  American  Government  is  ever 
to  cease,  it  will  be  when  every  living-  one  of 
these  poor  men  and  women  are  instructed  and 
shown  positively  that  they,  too,  though  ignorant 
and  barefooted,  are  creatures  of  Almighty  God, 
and  that  they  are  not  compelled  to  bow  to  the 
behest  of  this  high  element  and  slavishly  obey 
their  every  command.  When  we  show  to  them 
upon  every  occasion,  by  example  and  by  our  ac- 
tions that  whenever  the  humblest  of  all  that 
mighty  host  informs  the  officials  or  any  citizen 
of  the  American  Government,  that  a  Filipino  or 
American  clothed  with  the  garb  of  official  ca- 
pacity, this  man  of  wealth,  power  and  influence, 
is  a  rascal,  corrupt  or  oppressive,  that  then  and 
there  stands  at  their  backs  for  their  protection 
and  defense,  eighty-five  million  Americans,  ev- 
ery foot  of  that  sunny  soil,  every  dollar,  silver, 
gold  and  paper  in  that  American  treasury,  every 
soldier  and  every  gun  that  we  can  muster,  every 
pound  of  ammunition  that  is  in  our  arsenals,  and 
every  boat  of  our  mighty  navy  is  at  their  ser- 
vice, demanding  and  compelling  an  investiga- 
tion, and  if  what  they  say  be  true  of  this  man  of 
power,  no  matter  what  his  position  or  wealth,  he 
will  then  and  there  be  tried,  convicted,  and  if 


120       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

necessary  hanged — then,  and  not  until  then, 
can  you  safely  sheath  the  sword  and  wield  the 
pen. 

What  great  lesson  have  these  poor  people  been 
given  in  this  regard  by  the  actions  of  the  Philip- 
pine Commission  in  the  Nueva  Ecija  scandal? 
There  I  stood,  an  American,  my  honor  and  in- 
tegrity unquestioned,  my  record  unchallenged, 
thinking  of  the  honor  of  my  country  and  the  bet- 
terment of  those  people  above  all  else,  conscien- 
tiously and  with  all  the  power  that  God  gave 
me,  denouncing  as  an  infamous  rascal  the  gov- 
ernor of  this  Province,  begging  and  pleading  that 
an  investigation  be  made,  and  if  what  I  said  be 
true,  that  he  be  dismissed  and  no  longer  allowed 
to  stand  as  the  highest  official  in  this 
Province;  a  damnable  blot  and  an  infamous  ex- 
ample to  the  youth,  children  and  ignorant  poor 
of  this  land,  and  what  was  the  result? 

"He  may  be,  Mr.  Kelly,  all  that  you  say  he 
is,  but  we  wish  you  to  transfer.  Harmony  can- 
not longer  exist  in  that  junta  with  you  and  he  in 
it." 

"But,  my  dear  governor,  you  must  remove 
the  inharmonious  key.  Well,  but,  Mr.  Kelly, 
we  don't  wish  any  ladrones  to  take  their  guns 
and  go  to  the  mountains  in  that  Province;  we  will 
investifrate  him  later." 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       121 

Did  ever  grown  men  clothed  with  the  power 
of  the  governorship  of  a  country  suggest  and 
later  carry  in  execution  such  an  injudicious  act? 
Rather  than  make  an  investigation  of  ten  min- 
utes, they  allow  a  rascal  to  remain  in 
the  position  as  governor  and  dismiss  an 
honest  treasurer.  In  reply  to  that,  I  frankly 
tell  you,  "Of  course,  you  did  not  know 
it."  And  that  is  one  of  the  strongest  reasons 
why  I  say  that  your  administration  of  affairs 
demonstrates  the  weakness  of  this  government, 
— it  is  your  business  to  know  it;  you  approve 
the  appointment,  election  of  these  governors  and 
treasurers,  and  the  Filipino  and  American  people 
hold  you  personally  responsible  for  their  conduct 
and  their  character.  They  may  excuse  you,  as 
they  have  often  had  to  do  before,  for  putting  a 
rascal  in  an  official  position  when  you  did  not 
know  it.  But  when  they  read  over  my  letter, 
later  my  telegram,  then  my  words  before  you,  on 
May  i6th,  and  then  investigate  the  records  of 
your  palace  and  find  therein,  in  addition  to  my 
honest  statements,  sworn  affidavits  as  to  the  ras- 
cality of  this  man,  which  had  been  on  file  at 
least  two  months,  they  will  never  excuse  you  for 
such  a  blunder. 

The  words  that  you  said  to  me  in  regard  to  the 
Province  of  Nueva  Ecija,  may  yet  be  hurled  back 


122      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

in  your  face  by  eighty  million  freemen:  "Your 
services,  gentlemen,  as  far  as  the  government 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  is  concerned,  are  at 
an  end."  "The  day  of  your  destiny  is  o'er  and 
the  star  of  your  fate  hath  declined." 

By  your  actions  you  are  judged.  You  dare 
not  deny  that  your  policy  keeps  in  office  cor- 
rupt officials,  for  by  the  grace  of  God,  you  have 
done  the  deed.  Nay,  more !  You  have  not  only 
placed  in  official  positions  in  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands men  who  are  notoriously  corrupt,  but  you 
have  actually  dismissed  an  honest  official  in  or- 
der to  retain  in  power  and  position  such  a  one, 
and  why  have  you  done  this  ? 

In  order  to  carry  out  a  weak  policy  you  fool- 
ishly listened  to  the  whisperings  of  the  party  fed- 
eral. They  tell  you,  "Gentlemen,  this  man 
whom  Mr.  Kelly  has  denounced,  is  an  influential 
man  in  the  Province  of  Nueva  Ecija,  and  his  dis- 
missal just  at  this  time  may  cause  his  followers  to 
take  their  guns  and  go  to  the  mountains." 

And  what  do  you  do?  You  tremble  in  your 
boots.  You  know  in  your  hearts  the  man  is 
corrupt,  but  for  fear  that  you  hear  again  the 
crack  of  the  Krag-Jorgensen  and  the  Mauser,  you 
timidly  ask  the  honest  man  to  transfer,  and  later 
foolishly  dismiss  him  and  retain  in  office  a  cor- 
rupt and  infamous  official.  And  why?  Because 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      123 

you  are  pigmies  and  not  giants,  because  you  are 
absolutely  ignorant  of  affairs  as  they  exist  in  the 
Provinces. 

What  would  the  strenuous  Roosevelt  have  said 
and  done  (he  who  purified  the  New  York  po- 
lice force)  to  these  influential  federalists?  We 
all  know  that  he  would  have  reached  out  that 
strong  iron  hand,  grabbed  the  gentleman  by  the 
back  of  the  neck,  slammed  him  up  against  the 
wall,  and  in  words  of  fire,  told  him  "Quedao, 
hombre!  If  you  are  here  to  assist  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  this  country,  and  to  make  suggestions 
for  the  betterment  of  your  people,  I'm  with  you. 
But  if  you're  here  to  attempt  to  foolishly  influ- 
ence me,  retain  in  office  a  rascal  and  back  up 
your  damnable  suggestion  by  the  statement  that  if 
I  do  not  do  it,  there  is  liable  to  be  another 
war,  I'll  tell  you  frankly,  as  a  represent- 
ative of  the  American  people,  that  we 
prefer  war  to  dishonor,  and  that  the  of- 
ficial of  the  American  Government,  not  in  Amer- 
ica, but  in  Porto  Rico,  Hawaii  and  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  stands  flat-footed  and  uncompromis- 
ingly for  honest  and  upright  servants.  And 
whenever  you  and  your  followers  wish  to  revolt 
against  this  policy,  and  take  to  the  mountains, 
the  bars  are  down  and  the  gates  are  open,  and 
I'll  put  an  army  of  Americans  in  that  Filipino 


124     As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

field,  and  in  less  than  three  months  they  will 
wipe  you  and  all  your  busy  tribe  of  mischief 
makers  off  the  face  of  the  earth." 

That  is  the  kind  of  talk  we  want  as  members 
of  the  Philippine  Commission.  We've  got  'em 
in  America,  and  we  demand  'em  in  the  Philip- 
pines. The  people  of  this  country  are  weak ;  the 
government  shall  and  must  be  strong.  This 
smoothing  over  and  excusing  of  rascality  is  non- 
sense and  un-American.  You  cannot  stop  this 
rotten  Filipino  bull  by  grabbing  him  by  the 
tail ;  you've  got  to  take  him  by  the  horns.  This 
winking  and  blinking  at  corruption  has  got  to 
cease  and  the  time  for  action  is  now.  This  dilly- 
dally policy  is  a  disgrace  to  our  country  and  an 
infamous  example,  and  if  we  cannot  to-day  peace- 
ably fire  out  every  one  of  these  corrupt  officials, 
from  police  to  governor,  I,  for  one  favor  their 
dismissal,  even  though  the  very  imps  of  hell  rise 
in  revolt.  Why  wait  for  two  or  five  years  hence  ? 
The  issue  has  got  to  come ;  our  swords  are  sharp, 
our  arsenals  filled  with  ammunition;  our  guns 
cleaned,  our  colors  yet  uncased,  our  men  used 
to  hiking,  their  eyes  and  hands  are  better  trained 
to-day  than  they  will  be  then. 

Down  with  corrupt  officials. 

Up  with  honest  men. 

Out  with  the  weak  commissioners. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       125 

In  with  strong-minded  men. 

Your  argument  and  preaching  without  prac- 
tice amounts  to  naught.  You  "spare  the  rod, 
you  spoil  the  child."  You  must  shape  your  rules 
of  government  and  put  into  vogue  the  policy 
which  effects  and  makes  better  the  majority  of 
the  people  of  a  country.  You  cannot  make  your 
laws  and  your  rules  of  government  to  be  in 
conformity  with  the  high  standard  and  intel- 
ligence of  the  few ;  you  must  set  into  force  and 
put  into  execution  that  rule  which  will  be  best 
understood  and  appreciated  by  the  masses  of  the 
people.  In  every  school  room  under  the  Amer- 
ican flag,  the  master  therein  has  under  him  one 
or  two  high-minded,  intelligent  little  fellows,  but 
the  majority  of  his  chaps  are  mischievous  and 
bad.  He  makes  the  rules  and  hangs  over  the 
desk  the  rod  not  for  the  betterment  of  those 
good  boys,  but  for  the  punishment  of  the  bad 
ones.  Your  policy,  gentlemen,  is  only  understood 
by  the  few.  The  masses  of  these  people  cannot 
comprehend  your  ideas  when  you  put  into  a  po- 
sition a  corrupt  man  and  excuse  his  rascality. 
They  know  it's  wrong  and  they  think  that  it  is 
pull,  power,  wealth  and  influence  that  retains 
such  a  one  in  official  capacity — and  in  the  light 
of  my  American  training,  I  am  inclined  to  the 
same  view.     I  lay  it  down  as  a  proposition  that 


126      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

every  time  you  place  in  jail  one  bad  hombre, 
you  keep  out  ten  ;  that  every  time  you  tan  the  hide 
of  one  mischievous  kid,  you  save  the  elbow  grease 
that  would  have  later  been  required  in  the  train- 
ing of  the  hide  of  twenty  more.  You  do  not 
comprehend  the  magnitude  of  the  situation.  You 
have  no  conception  of  the  habits,  customs  and 
natures  of  the  masses  of  these  people.  You  are 
unquestionably  the  most  gloriously  hood-winked 
body  of  intelligent  men  with  whom  I  have  ever 
come  in  contact.  Outside  of  your  immediate 
associates  and  those  who  depend  upon  you  for 
their  bread  and  meat,  and  those  whose  interests 
it  is  to  influence,  there  is  not  one  American,  either 
soldier  or  civilian,  who  does  not  heartily  con- 
demn your  policy  and  laugh  at  your  ignorance 
of  the  situation.  I  have  yet  to  meet  one  intel- 
ligent army  officer  or  American,  who  has  been 
in  this  country  for  any  length  of  time,  who  does 
not  laugh  at  your  laws,  ridicule  your  actions 
and  pity  your  weak  endeavors. 

Is  this  retention  and  smoothing  over  of  pub- 
lic officials  your  only  display  of  bad  judgment? 
It  certainly  is  not.  You  have  foolishly  passed 
your  "sedition  law."  It  serves  only  as  a  protec- 
tion for  the  corrupt  officials  of  this  Philippine 
country.  Even  the  strongest  of  us  fears  to  turn 
on  the  light,  and  yet  this  is  a  land  of  dungeons. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       127 

darkness  and  underhand  work.  The  masses  of 
the  people  are  practically  slaves,  timidly  afraid 
to  say  aught  against  their  masters,  even  with- 
out this  law.  It  should  be  the  reverse.  Criti- 
cism of  public  officials  should  be  encouraged,  for 
of  all  the  lands  under  God's  great  heavens,  there 
is  none  where  the  mighty  light  of  reason,  right 
and  argument  needs  more  to  be  turned  on,  where 
it  is  so  necessary  to  separate  the  good  from  the 
bad,  publicly  condemn  the  wrong  and  strongly 
defend  the  right,  bolster  up  and  encourage  the 
good,  fire  out  and  hang  the  bad. 

All  sedition  laws  from  the  beginning  of  time 
will  never  keep  those  people  from  revolt  and 
rebellion;  you  cannot  keep  a  human  being  from 
fighting  for  his  rights,  by  making  laws  which 
only  bridle  his  tongue  in  public  and  make  his 
words  more  eloquent  in  secret.  Your  oppression 
adds  fuel  to  the  fire  of  liberty,  begets  pity  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  and  "pity  is  akin 
to  love,"  and  what  won't  a  man  do  for  love  of 
his  f ellowman  ? 

You  must  repeal  your  sedition  law  and  say 
in  words  of  fervid  honesty  in  every  dialect 
throughout  this  Archipelago:  "The  American 
Government  fears  not  your  criticisms.  Turn  all 
your  batteries  upon  us,  and  we  will  show  you 
by  our  manly,  honest,  upright  and  straightfor- 


128      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ward  administration  of  affairs  here,  that  it  is 
the  government  of  and  for  the  people,  the  strong- 
est defender  of  the  weak,  the  breaker  of  the 
chains  of  slavery,  the  friend  of  the  poor  and  the 
educator  of  the  masses." 

I  maintain  that  out  of  the  thirteen  million 
people  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  there  are 
eight  million  of  them  worse  slaves  to-day,  more 
abused  and  oppressed  than  were  the  negroes 
of  the  sunny  South,  and  especially  lay  it  down, 
that  the  man  or  men,  government  or  power  that 
breaks  this  domineering  influence,  that  tears 
asunder  those  chains  of  slavery  for  all  this  mighty 
host,  that  they  and  their  children  will  love,  honor 
and  respect  that  man,  men  or  government,  and 
that  their  hands  will  never  be  raised  in  revolt 
against  those  who  gave  them  their  freedom 
and  their  inherited  rights  as  children  of  Almighty 
God.  Go  into  the  sunny  South  to-day,  and  you 
will  hear  the  big-mouthed  negro  loudly  exclaim 
that  "Them  Yankees  don't  know  nothin'  'bout 
us  niggers;  that  the  Southern  folk  is  our  best 
friends ;"  but  go  into  Sambo's  house,  and  if  on 
his  wall  you  behold  a  picture,  'twill  be  that  of 
old  Abe  Lincoln;  and  follow  all  the  Sambos 
on  a  presidential  election  day  and  you'll  see 
they  cast  a  solid  Republican  vote.  Why  is  this? 
Because  imprinted  in  his  black  heart  is  the  name 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      129 

and  noble  deeds  of  Lincoln,  and  in  his  memory 
is  engraven  forever  the  name  of  the  party 
and  men  that  gave  him  his  freedom. 

If  ever  America  is  to  govern  this  land  in 
peace  and  harmony,  it  will  be  when  she,  not  by 
the  enactment  of  sedition  laws,  but  by  some 
grand  and  noble  method,  touches  the  human 
chord  of  the  masses  of  these  people  and  actually 
does  an  act  for  which  Almighty  God  will  bless 
the  American  nation,  and  the  angels  in  heaven 
will  sing,  "Peace  on  earth ;  good  will  to  all  Amer- 
icans." No  people  will  ever  revolt  against  gov- 
ernment, when  the  laws  of  that  government 
are  benevolently  and  justly  administered.  I  say 
to  you  to  place  over  these  people  kind  and  benev- 
olent governors,  conscientious  and  just  judges; 
firm  and  honest  fiscals ;  it  will  then  be  in  vain 
for  the  mischief  makers  to  again  raise  these 
people  against  the  American  government.  They 
might  as  well  attempt  to  convince  a  loving  child 
that  the  homage  and  attachment  which  he  renders 
to  a  fond  parent,  is  but  a  debasing  servitude. 

Let  us  view  your  unwise  act  of  only  a  few  days 
ago,  which  is  proof  positive  that  you  know  ab- 
solutely nothing  or  do  not  care  to  know  of  the 
conditions  in  the  Provinces,  and  less  of  the  char- 
acters of  the  men  into  whose  hands  you  place 
power. 


130      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Take  Act  No.  413,  where  you  put  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  Provinces  in  possession  of  the  keys 
of  the  provincial  jails  and  give  them  full  con- 
trol and  management  of  the  prisoners.  As  one 
who  has  served  as  Provincial  Treasurer  in  the 
Provinces  and  knows  the  situation  as  it  exists,  I 
tell  you  that  in  nine  Provinces  out  of  ten  where 
there  are  Filipino  governors,  under  your  policy, 
you  might  just  as  well  bind  hand  and  foot  the 
poor  people  of  those  Provinces  and  place  at  their 
throat,  with  an  open  knife,  a  raving  maniac.  By 
this  act  alone  you  have  torn  down  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  crushed  in  the  hand  the 
Goddess  of  Liberty,  and  you  have  placed  in  the 
hands  of  these  unscrupulous  men,  the  most  fear- 
ful weapon  which  will  be  used  by  the  majority  of 
them  to  abuse,  oppress  and  intimidate  the  peo- 
ple, advance  the  interests  of  friends  and  punish 
enemies,  as  has  been  done  in  this  Province,  and 
is  being  done  to-day.  Mark  the  prediction !  Un- 
less this  government  is  promptly  made  stronger 
in  less  than  a  year,  the  power  that  those  men 
will  have  gained  on  account  of  that  act  will  stand 
them  in  good  stead,  and  they  will  again  cause 
an  insurrection  in  this  country. 

Ask  any  officer  or  soldier  who  has  served  in 
this  country  for  two  weeks  during  the  insurrec- 
tion, and  he  will  tell  you  that  the  majority  of 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      131 

these  barefooted  hombres  were  forced  into  the 
trenches  and  on  the  battle  field  and  there  killed; 
and  yet  they  knew  not  and  cared  less  whether  the 
governing  power  in  Manila  was  Spain  or  Por- 
tugal, England  or  America.  Seldom  indeed  has 
there  been  found  in  the  trenches  one  of  these  shod 
hombres ;  but  he  was  then  like  he  is  to-day — what 
the  power  behind  the  throne  made  him.  I  have 
had  no  less  than  twenty  Filipinos  tell  me,  since  the 
passage  of  this  law,  that  it  was  the  worst  thing 
that  could  have  been  done  for  the  poor  people  of 
those  Islands  ;  and  further,  from  the  lips  of  intelli- 
gent army  officers,  soldiers,  civilians  and  intelli- 
gent Filipinos,  I  have  been  told  time  and  time 
again  that  the  Americans  are  not  in  control  of  this 
government,  but  are  being  influenced  and  are 
ministering  aflFairs  according  to  the  dictates  of 
the  party  federal. 

Another  thing  in  regard  to  your  provincial 
governors  that  strikes  me  as  more  comical  than 
serious,  is  that  the  Governor  is  the  highest  and 
most  honored  man  in  the  Province.  Yet  in  the 
same  act,  being  sheriff,  he  is  also  the  hangman. 
That  has  always  struck  me  as  ridiculous,  and 
so  it  did  Ricardo  Paras,  Governor  of  Marinduque. 
The  arresting  of  criminals  and  taking  part  in  the 
petty  feuds  and  quarrels  of  the  gente  should  be 
beneath  the   Governor  of  a  Province.     Impar- 


132      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

tially  and  dignifiedly  he  should  reign  over  his 
people.  You  place  him  in  a  very  awkward  posi- 
tion by  making  him  the  executor  of  the  orders 
of  the  court.  The  business  of  arresting,  care  and 
management  of  criminals  and  prisoners  should 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  police  or  constabu- 
lary. A  Governor  should  under  no  condition 
be  compelled  to  take  part  in  such  affairs.  It  is 
beneath  his  dignity. 

Take  the  public  schools  of  this  country,  of 
which  we  so  loudly  boast.  The  system  of  these 
schools  is  faulty  and  radically  wrong. 

You  have  brought  to  this  country,  at  great  ex- 
pense, hundreds  of  most  excellent  men  and  wom- 
en, whose  noblest  ambition,  while  on  their  way  out 
here,  had  been  raised  to  the  highest  pitch,  and 
who  to-day  are  disheartened  and  discouraged, 
and  are  set  down  in  some  pueblo  with  a  tyran- 
nical, impudent  and  lazy  presidente  who  gives  no 
assistance  whatever  to  the  teacher,  and  who  in 
his  official  capacity  is  a  detriment  to  the  progress 
of  these  schools.  First  and  foremost,  the  man- 
agement of  these  schools,  the  appointment  of  the 
teachers  and  the  salaries  thereof  should  be  abso- 
lutely free  and  independent  from  the  presidentes 
and  ignorant  con j ales.  I'll  venture  the  assertion 
that  seven  Filipino  teachers  out  of  ten  in  this 
Archipelago  are  presumably  drawing,  say  twenty- 


HON.  A.  W.  FERGUSSON. 
Executive  Secretary  of  the  Philippine  Commission. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       133 

five  pesos,  when  in  fact  they  receive  only  fifteen 
or  eighteen  pesos,  the  remainder  going  into  the 
jeans  of  the  presidente  or  some  of  the  conjales. 
"Well,  we  did  not  know  or  We  don't  know  that 
that  condition  exists."  Of  course  you  do  not.  I 
dare  you  to  make  an  investigation  or  ask  the 
teachers.  It  does  exist  and  to  a  shameful  degree. 
It  was  done  in  the  Province  of  Marinduque  un- 
der me  and  it  is  done  to-day  in  the  Province  of 
Nueva  Ecija,  and  what  is  true  of  these  Provinces 
is  doubtless  true  of  the  rest.  These  American 
teachers  are  too  intelligent  and  too  necessary, 
this  day  and  time,  during  this  unorganized  con- 
dition of  affairs,  to  be  set  down  in  a  bamboo  shack 
teaching  a  kid  A,  B,  C.  There  are  about  one- 
tenth  of  the  children  in  this  Archipelago  receiving 
the  benefits  of  these  schools,  and  they  are  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  rich  and  prominent 
people,  whose  parents  are  amply  able  to  send 
them  to  Manila.  In  San  Isidro  there  are  about 
three  hundred  children  going  to  school,  when 
there  should  be  at  least  two  thousand.  The  same 
condition  exists  in  Cabanatuan  of  this  Province. 
In  fact,  it  exists  in  every  barrio  and  pueblo  in 
this  Archipelago.  The  majority  of  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  ignorant  poor  only  view  "the 
little  red  school  house"  from  the  outside,  and  I 
will  venture  the  assertion  that  there  are  75  per- 


134      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

cent  of  the  people  who  do  not  even  know 
that  they  are  entitled  to  send  their  children  to 
school,  and  in  many  instances,  doubtless,  are  in- 
structed by  some  of  these  presidentes  and  in- 
fluential hombres  that  the  public  schools  are  not 
for  them. 

What  will  relieve  this  condition  of  affairs? 
What  will  place  in  the  San  Isidro  schools  two 
thousand  children  instead  of  three  hundred? 
Simply  this :  Instead  of  making  your  intelligent 
American  teachers  subordinate  to  presidentes, 
divide  your  Provinces  into  districts,  place  at  the 
head  of  that  district  an  intelligent  American 
teacher,  give  him  the  power  to  appoint  every 
teacher  and  to  set  their  salaries.  Frame  your 
laws  so  that  the  council  will  have  to  pay  them  or 
turn  the  money  over  to  the  chief  of  the  district, 
and  let  him  be  a  paymaster.  Then  enact  a 
law  making  him  somewhat  the  father  and  pro- 
tector of  all  the  children  within  that  district,  be- 
tween certain  ages,  rich  and  poor  alike. 

Frame  your  law  so  that  he  will  have  authority 
to  go  into  the  homes  of  these  people  and  kindly 
but  plainly  tell  them  that  it  is  the  law  of  this  land 
that  every  male  and  female  child  between  certain 
ages  is  required  to  attend  that  school  which  is 
nearest  their  domicile.  I  am  not  wedded  to  the 
policy  of  compulsory  education,  but  I  am  em- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      135 

phatically  in  faVor  of  education,  and  it  strikes  me 
that  if  Governors  of  Provinces  can  force  grown 
men  to  swear  lies  against  their  will,  and  pres- 
identes  have  the  power  and  use  it,  to  make  igno- 
rant men  come  in  from  the  barrios  in  crowds  of 
twenty  or  thirty  to  build  their  homes  without 
pay,  that  a  noble  and  kind-hearted  American 
teacher  would  not  be  overstepping  the  bounds  of 
propriety  if  he  forced  ignorant  children  to  do 
an  act  which  can  only  result  beneficially  to  them- 
selves, their  parents  and  their  country.  Make 
your  American  teacher  the  general  and  in- 
structor of  the  Filipino  teachers.  Your  system  in 
vogue  to-day,  as  far  as  benefit  to  the  masses  of 
the  children  is  concerned  and  the  labor  of  your 
American  teachers,  is  wasted  on  the  desert  air. 
You  have  an  American  foolishly  teaching  one 
child  his  A,  B,  C,  while  he  should  be  in  truth 
superintending  the  instruction  of  two  thousand 
in  these  letters. 

"Well,"  you  will  say,  "but  we  have  not  enough 
American  teachers  to  teach  this  number  of  chil- 
dren English."  I'm  well  aware  of  that  fact,  and 
am  not  one  of  those  who  foolishly  think  that 
if  a  child  cannot  be  taught  the  English  language 
he  should  be  taught  nothing.  I  lay  it  down  as 
a  proposition  that  if  you  start  in  to-day  and  teach 
two  thousand  children  the  Spanish  language  for 


136      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

a  period  of  two  years,  that  at  the  expiration  of 
that  time  you  will  have  done  more  good  for  these 
people  and  this  country,  and  the  masses  of  them 
will  have  a  wider  general  knowledge  of  this 
world's  history  and  be  more  capable  of  assisting 
in  this  government  than  they  will  be  at  the  ex- 
piration of  five  years  under  this  present  system. 

I  am  sure  that  if  the  Father  in  Heaven  were 
to  bless  my  home  with  a  child  I  would  a  thousand 
times  prefer  that  little  one  to  read  the  Book  of 
God  and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  the 
Chinese  or  Spanish  language  than  not  to  read 
them  at  all.  If  we  are  short  on  English  teachers, 
we  must  not  foolishly  stop  or  slow  up  the  wheels 
of  education.  These  teachers  should  be  teaching 
an  army  of  children  instead  of  a  battalion.  When 
confronted  by  two  evils,  we  must  accept  the 
lesser. 

The  children  of  this  country  must  be 
taught  the  knowledge  of  God.  the  grandeur 
of  a  government  and  the  beauties  of  liberty.  If 
unable  to  teach  him  the  Word  of  God,  I  would 
train  his  little  lips  to  whisper  his  prayers  to  Dios ; 
if  unable  to  pronounce  Liberty,  I  would  teach 
him  "libertad."  We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the 
fact  that  the  main  question  at  issue  in  this  par- 
ticular is  education,  knowledge  and  information. 
If  we  cannot  give  them  these  by  the  English 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       137 

route,  then  let  us  by  all  means  impart  it  to  them 
by  the  Spanish  or  Tagalog-.  In  feeding  the  starv- 
ing multitude  you  do  not  necessarily  have  to 
place  their  food  in  a  silver  spoon  in  order  to  fill 
their  empty  stomachs.  Let  them  put  it  in  with 
their  hands  or  sticks,  but  get  it  in.  "Do  not  prize 
the  vehicle  above  its  precious  freight!" 

It  is  far  better  for  this  land  that  ten  thousand 
children  know  and  appreciate  the  word  "honest- 
idad"  than  that  only  one  thousand  know  and  pro- 
nounce the  word  "honesty."  Your  school  sys- 
tem, gentlemen,  is  only  reaching  the  favored  few. 
"Well,  but  that  is  not  our  intention."  I  willingly 
admit  that,  but  you  are  doing  the  deed.  Why? 
Want  of  knowledge  of  the  true  conditions  of  af- 
fairs, and  unwillingness  to  take  the  word  of  your 
honest,  true  and  tried  American  lieutenants. 

While  upon  the  subject,  let  me  pass  a  few  re- 
marks on  the  foolish  bar  that  has  been  placed  in 
the  case  of  every  American  lawyer;  no  matter 
what  his  credentials  or  abilities  are,  he  must  first 
spend  three  or  four  months  studying  the  three 
codes,  and  then  attempt  to  pass  a  fixed  or  prej- 
udiced board  before  he  is  able  to  argue  a  point 
upon  the  same  codes  before  a  judge  who  himslf 
has  not  been  required  to  go  up  against  it  and 
who  could  not  in  less  time  pass  the  examination. 

This  I  consider  not  only  unjust,  but  it  staves 


138      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

out  for  a  while  men  who  just  at  this  time 
are  very  badly  needed  in  the  building  up  of  this 
country.  There  are  many  excellent  young  bar- 
risters in  America  who  would,  if  this  bar  was 
down,  which  it  will  be,  come  to  the  Philippines, 
scatter  themselves  about  in  the  different  Prov- 
inces and  larger  pueblos,  and  there  they  would 
stand  as  guardian  angels  to  the  ignorant,  poor 
and  oppressed  of  this  country,  and  as  doubtless 
most  of  them  would  soon  learn  the  Tagalog  lan- 
guage, they  would  soon  be  the  most  powerful  de- 
fenders of  this  government.  While  making  their 
living,  they  would  in  truth  be  eye-openers  to  all 
of  these  people.  They  are  the  moulders  of  gov- 
ernments— I  do  not  mean  shysters  and  carpet- 
baggers, but  honest,  upright  young  men  who 
would  come  to  this  land  to  live  and  die.  and  stand 
ready  and  willing  to  sacrifice  their  lives,  prop- 
erty and  sacred  honor  for  this,  the  home  of  their 
adoption.  It  is  dollars  to  doughnuts  that  if  each 
Province  had  two  such  men  in  it,  in  less  than  six 
months  90  percent  of  legal  abuses  and  corrup- 
tion would  disappear ;  the  poor  would  soon  learn 
that  America  is  a  government  of  and  for  the 
people;  their  presence,  independence  and  manly 
courage  would  put  the  fear  of  God  into  the  hearts 
of  every  Filipino  judge  in  this  Archipelago.  And 
under  their  watchful  eye  your  beloved  fiscals 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       139 

would  "sige  derecho"  or  get  off  the  earth.  They 
would  also  be  a  strong  incentive  to  every  pro- 
vincial and  municipal  official  to  "hands  off"  and 
"go  right."  By  all  means  these  empire  build- 
ers should  be  let  in  free  of  duty,  and  without  an- 
other examination.  It  is  not  so  much  a  knowledge 
of  the  law  of  this  land  that  we  need,  as  it  is  obe- 
dience to  it,  and  honest  and  courageous  men. 

You  need  only  refer  to  the  beginning  of  this 
and  you  can  get  an  idea  of  what  a  poor  client 
can  expect  when  confronting  a  rich  one.  Let 
them  in,  but,  let  me  caution  you  before  you  do 
this,  that  you  had  better  retire  or  change  your 
policy.  For  if  this  land  is  ever  blessed  with 
about  one  or  two  thousand  honest,  intelligent 
barristers,  in  the  language  of  to-day,  "they  won't 
do  a  thing  to  you."  They  will  line  their  guns 
of  argument  and  reason  upon  your  present  pol- 
icy and  force  you  to  either  change  it,  or  quit 
the  land. 

Now  let  us  take  a  peep  into  the  purity  of  puri- 
ties, the  land  of  Filipino  judges  and  fiscals. 
Now,  somewhere  in  his  book  on  evidence,  Mr. 
Greenleaf  informs  us  that  there  are  some  facts 
so  generally  and  universally  known,  that  the 
court  is  forced  to  take  cognizance  of  them,  and 
I  believe  that  the  corruption  of  a  large  part  of 
this  outfit  will  not  have  to  be  proven,  or  at  least, 


140      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

that  they  are  easily  influenced.  And  let  me  say 
once  for  all,  that  I  am  not  one  of  those  prej- 
udiced, narrow-minded  Americans  who  come  in 
contact  with  a  thieving  muchacho  and  a  rascally 
Governor  and  then  wildly  exclaim :  "All  Filipinos 
are  naturally  corrupt,  dishonest,  and  bad."  It's 
their  nature  and  you  can't  change  it.  "It's 
costumbre."  I  do  not  believe  that  all  Filipinos 
are  thieves,  bad  or  corrupt.  My  belief  in  my  fel- 
lowman  and  supreme  confidence  in  Almighty 
God,  demand  that  I  brand  that  statement  as 
false  and  unfounded.  The  all-wise  Providence 
did  not  place  upon  this  earth  thirteen  million 
man  beings,  natural  liars,  thieves  and  scoundrels, 
and  then  take  Moses  on  Mount  Zion,  and  upon 
the  table  of  stone,  with  his  divine  fingers,  inscribe 
thereon  the  ten  commandments.  He  did  not  make 
these  human  souls  naturally  so  that  they  were 
unable  to  follow  and  comprehend  his  divine 
teachings.  That  is  an  infamous  lie  upon  the 
Deity. 

That  there  are  too  many  Filipinos  who 
seem  to  know  little  of  the  divine  commandments 
and  apparently  care  less,  I  willingly  admit,  and 
I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  recent  ac- 
tion of  the  Sages  of  the  Commission  is  not  cal- 
culated to  cause  those  in  high  position  to  take 
cognizance  thereof, — it  is  not  necessary  for  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       141 

public  service.  As  long  as  you  are  a  member  of  the 
federal  party  in  good  standing,  you  are  sure  of 
your  job,  or,  as  Santos  remarked,  braggadocio, 
when  he  learned  of  my  dismissal,  "Had  there 
been  ten  treasurers  fighting  me,  they  would  have 
all  gone  out."  Or  in  other  words,  it  requires 
eleven  honest  treasurers  to  oust  one  dishonest 
Governor.  Show  me  a  people,  white  or  black, 
red  or  yellow,  who  have  for  long  years  been 
enslaved,  mistreated,  abused,  and  practically 
kicked  and  cuffed  around,  and  no  confidence 
placed  in  them,  and  I  will  show  you  a  people 
with  the  same  characteristics  as  those  in  this  Ar- 
chipelago. 

First  and  foremost,  you  must  let  the  Filipino 
know  that  we  have  confidence  in  his  intelligence, 
ability  and  honesty.  Give  him  every  position  that 
it  is  possible  for  him  to  fill,  in  this,  his  home 
by  right  divine,  then  treat  him  just  as  you  do 
the  Americans.  Don't  crown  him  a  king  and 
then  only  accord  him  respect  due  to  a  slave. 
Don't  make  him  a  Governor  of  his  people  and 
then  excuse  his  damned  rascality  on  the  flimsy 
pretext  that  he  a  weakling,  or  that  for  three  hun- 
dred years  his  ancestors  have  been  engaged  in 
the  same  kind  of  business. 

The  individual,  be  he  Filipino,  American  or 


142      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Chino,  knows  beyond  the  peradventure  of  a 
doubt,  right  from  wrong. 

Here,  gentlemen,  is  where  you  plainly  show 
that  you  are  not  masters  of  the  situation,  that 
you  know  naught  of  human  nature.  The  best 
study  of  Man  is  Mankind.  It  is  this  foolish 
policy  of  placing  intelligent  Filipinos  in  posi- 
tions of  power  and  trust,  admitting  that  they 
have  sufficient  wisdom  to  preside  in  questions 
of  life  and  death,  and  then  deliberately  turn 
round  and  with  one  fell  swoop  tear  down  your 
Solomon  built  by  your  own  hands,  and  excuse 
him  for  doing  an  act  that  even  his  muchacho 
knows  is  wrong.  And  that,  gentlemen,  is  the 
reason  why  the  natives  say,  "Los  Commissioners 

mucho fools ;  no  sabe  Filipinos,"  and  them's 

my  sentiments,  too. 

You  are  dead  wrong;  you  are  woefully  in- 
consistent; your  judgment  is  bad,  your  policy 
childish,  and  you  are  being  laughed  at  every 
day  by  the  people  you  excuse.  Let  me  give 
you  a  little  sound  advice  in  regard  to  handling 
these  native  judges,  governors  and  fiscals,  and 
you  had  better  take  it  and  put  it  into  execu- 
tion. If  you  do  not,  sooner  or  later,  your  pres- 
ent policy  will  simply  force  other  men  to  fire 
bodily  every  Filipino  Governor,  Judge  and  Fis- 
cal in  this  Island  and  supplant  them  by  Amer- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       143 

leans,  which,  frankly,  I  do  not  wish  to  see.  This 
is  the  Filipino's  land  and  I,  for  one,  wish  to 
see  him  given  preference  over  all  comers,  if  he 
is  equally  honest  and  capable.  Establish  a  cer- 
tain standard  of  morals  and  official  conduct; 
tell  your  native  judges,  governors  and  fiscals: 
"In  clothing  you  with  authority  and  position, 
the  American  Government  places  in  you  unlim- 
ited confidence.  Quidao,  hombre.  If  you  step 
one  foot  to  right  or  left,  and  follow  any  path 
save  the  straight  and  narrow,  off  goes  your  head. 

"This  business  of  oppressing  your  enemies 
and  favoring  your  friends  will  not  work  for 
one  minute ;  this  stuff  about  your  three  hundred 
years  of  false  training  is  all  tommy-rot.  If 
you've  got  brains  enough  to  be  a  judge,  a  gov- 
ernor or  a  fiscal,  you  have  brains  enough  to  be 
honest  and  to  distinguish  right  from  wrong.  If 
you  haven't,  you  had  better  bestride  a  carabao 
and  take  to  the  rice  paddies." 

Not  only  give  them  good  solid  advice  like 
that,  but  put  men  on  their  trail ;  watch  'em 
like  hawks  and  the  first  time  they  go  wrong, 
fire  'em  bodily,  and  if  they  are  criminally  guilty, 
try  them  and  put  them  in  Bilibid.  Do  that  and 
I  will  stake  my  life  on  it  that  at  the  end  of 
1903,  you  will  have  more  Filipino  judges,  than 


144      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

by  the  present  policy,  at  the  expiration  of  that 
time. 

The  American  administration,  whether  Repub- 
lican or  Democratic,  Populist  or  Prohibitionist, 
is  not  going  to  allow  or  stand  for  corrupt  pub- 
lic officials  anywhere,  especially  in  this  land, 
where  we  are  told  the  hand  of  God  placed  us. 
You  must  separate  the  good  from  the  bad.  The 
Almighty  set  you  the  example  when  he  rail- 
roaded Satan  and  all  his  imps  to  hell,  and  it 
strikes  me  that  what  was  deemed  necessary  in 
heaven  for  the  proper  government  of  angels, 
might  cut  some  ice  if  put  into  force  among  our 
little  brown  friends.  I  emphatically  maintain 
that  it  is  far  better  for  this  country  and  an  ex- 
ample for  the  youth  that  we  have  one  honest, 
upright  judge,  than  forty  rotten  and  corrupt  ones. 

You  show  plainly  your  lack  of  wisdom,  both 
going  and  coming,  in  this  proposition.  Let  me 
ask  you,  in  all  candor,  will  you  kindly  inform 
me  what  business  you  have  putting  into  such 
important  positions,  such  brainless  idiots,  men 
who  are  just  and  wise  enough  to  sit  as  judges 
and  sentence  their  fellowmen  to  death,  yet  don't 
know  right  from  wrong  ?  Great  God ! !  Was 
there  ever  such  a  bunglesome  piece  of  work  done 
by  bearded  men, — men  who  are  far  enough  ad- 
vanced to  reign  as  Governors  over  thousands 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      145 

of  people,  but  must  be  excused  when  they 
do  an  act  that  ought  to  place  them  in 
jail.  In  all  candor,  were  I  a  member  of  your 
Commission  and  had  assisted  in  such  a  foolish 
policy,  no  man  would  have  to  ask  for  my  retire- 
ment. I  would  pack  my  trunk,  strike  my  tent 
and  like  the  proverbial  Arab,  quietly  but  quickly 
steal  away. 

You  have  not  advanced  in  knowledge  and 
made  good  use  of  your  time.  Like  the 
favorites  in  a  race,  you  have  made  a  beautiful 
start;  the  grandstand  applauded  you  madly; 
you  have  been  on  the  track  now  a  year,  and  all 
eyes  are  turned  upon  you,  looking  for  the  re- 
sult, and  I  can  assure  you  that  no  one  has  hoped 
for  your  success  any  more  than  the  writer.  It 
is  of  little  importance  who  sets  the  pace  in  a 
race;  it  is  the  horse  that  comes  under  the  wire 
first  that  wins.  You  are  far  from  it.  God  knows 
and  I  know  that  you  have  done  your  best,  but 
you  have  erred  and  erred  grievously.  You  have 
been  followers  instead  of  leaders.  In  your  en- 
deavors to  pay  attention  to  the  customs  of  this 
land,  you  have  been  led  astray;  you  must  pay 
heed  to  the  well-known  good  customs  of  a  coun- 
try, but  not  to  the  bad  ones.  The  teachings 
of  Almighty  God  in  the  ten  command- 
ments, were  given  to  all    men.     Judge    these 


146      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

people  under  these  divine  commandments,  and 
when  they  violate  any  or  even  one  of  them, 
when  you  fail  to  punish  them  severely,  you  ac- 
cept a  fall  into  a  bad  custom  which  can  only 
result  detrimentally  to  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try. 

Now  let  us  take  a  passing  shot  at  the  Policia 
Municipal ;  and  in  discussing  this,  I  will  not  say 
that  you  are  ignorant  or  uninformed,  for  I  am 
absolutely  positive  that  even  you  know  of  the 
rottenness,  wholesale  corruption  and  general  no- 
accountedness  of  the  municipal  police,  not  of  one 
pueblo,  but  of  every  one  in  this  Archipelago. 
Ride  up  to  the  house  of  any  presidente.  A 
policeman  will  hold  your  horse;  go  inside,  one 
will  take  your  hat  and  cane;  orderwzwei  beers 
and  a  pretzel  and  another  will  bring  it;  take 
dinner  with  the  presidente,  one  will  wait  upon 
the  table;  look  into  the  kitchen  and  you  will 
see  one  or  two  therein  cooking  your  meals. 
Every  month  many  thousands  of  dollars  are  paid 
out  foolishly  for  police  who  are  nothing  more 
than  servants  and  muchachos  for  the  presidentes. 
Every  day  thousands  of  people  are  mistreated, 
thrown  in  jail,  brow-beaten  by  these  ignorant 
lepers  upon  the  civil  payroll.  Of  all  the  frauds, 
rascally  fakirs  and  infamous  scoundrels  upon 
the  face  of  this  earth,  these  paid  slaves  of  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       147 

presidentes  are  the  worst.  Eighty-five  percent 
of  them  receive  only  half  of  their  pay,  the  rest 
goes  into  the  personal  funds  of  some  municipal 
official. 

They  are  lazy,  impudent,  no-account,  and 
disgusting  to  behold.  As  far  as  the  work 
that  they  are  paid  to  perform  is  concerned,  they 
might  just  as  well  be  made  of  wood.  Such 
men  or  things  as  these  you  leave  in  power,  yet 
you  know  that  one  of  the  most  important  ques- 
tions that  confronts  the  American  authorities 
in  this  country  is :  How  will  this  land  ever  rid 
itself  of  ladrones?  Can  it  be  done?  You  bet 
your  life  that  it  will  be.  You  can  never  have 
peace  and  order  in  this  land  as  long  as  no  one  re- 
spects your  police  department.  You  must  pay 
more  attention  to  the  quality  of  the  men  and 
less  to  the  quantity.  There  are  in  a  pueblo 
twenty  policemen,  most  of  whom  can  neither  read 
nor  write,  originate  or  put  into  execution  an 
idea.  Fire  your  twenty  ignoramuses  and  put 
in  their  places  one  intelligent  city  marshal  and 
four  assistants,  pay  them  forty  pesos  per  month; 
put  upon  them  a  dignified  uniform  and  appoint 
pnly  decent  young  men  to  these  positions. 

Do  this  in  each  pueblo  in  a  Province; 
then  appoint  a  provincial  marshal  or  sheriff 
of    the    Province;    put    all    these    other    mar- 


148      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

shals  under  him  and  separate  them  frcwn  these 
corrupt  presidentes;  this  Chief  of  Marshals  for 
two  years  should  be  an  upright  American.  This 
arrangement  would  not  only  be  cheaper,  but  it 
would  be  ten  thousand  times  more  beneficial  to 
the  public  service.  Intelligent  men  can  in  one 
year's  time  run  out  and  hound  down  every 
ladrone  in  the  land.  You  can  never  rid  this  coun- 
try of  this  bad  element  as  long  as  the  mem- 
bers thereof  have  more  brains  and  sense  than 
the  men  who  are  supposed  to  catch  them.  You 
cannot  catch  the  mule-eared  rabbit  with  an  or- 
dinary cur,  you  must  supplant  him  with  the  fleet 
greyhound.  I  defy  any  congressman,  senator, 
man,  woman  or  child  in  America  to  come  to 
this  land  and  make  a  ten  minutes'  investigation 
of  this  uninformed  and  armed  body  of  infamous 
rats,  and  then  be  able  to  truthfully  say  that  Amer- 
ica is  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the 
brave. 

Mark  you,  I  am  no  enemy  of  these  people. 
As  I  write,  there  hangs  over  my  head  a  photo 
of  some  of  the  New  World's  illustrious  men ; 
in  that  collection  is  the  noble  Washington,  the 
illustrious  Franklin,  the  dauntless  Webster,  and 
the  martyred  McKinley.  The  largest  in  that 
mighty  host  is  that  of  the  Filipino  patriot,  Jose 
Rizal.  My  remarks  are  aimed  not  at  men  like  him ; 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       149 

I  can  stand  upon  the  same  platform  with  any 
honest,  upright  member  of  the  federal  party. 
I  can  take  by  the  hand  any  native  in  this  land 
who  stands  out  boldly  and  fearlessly  for  hon- 
est and  upright  public  officials  and  the  liberty 
of  the  masses,  his  people,  but  I  have  nothing  but 
contempt  for  any  one  who  smooths  over  the 
actions  of  a  scoundrel,  though  he  be  clothed  with 
the  title  of  United  States  Philippine  Commis- 
sioner. 

To  sum  up  this  situation  and  bring  this  to  a 
conclusion :  All  Americans  in  these  Islands  have 
had  a  great  question  to  solve.  The  Philippine 
Commission  has  failed;  it  has  not  solved 
the  problem.  The  Provinces,  on  account  of  the 
millions  of  inhabitants,  the  enormous  number 
of  human  souls  that  is  in  them,  are  the  heart 
and  core  of  this  government.  The  Commission's 
policy  has  not  touched  them  in  the  least.  The 
masses  of  these  people  are  worse  off  to-day  than 
under  any  government  in  the  past.  The  ques- 
tion is  up  to  every  American  in  this  country,  be 
he  civilian,  employee  or  private  citizen. 

We  cannot  change  the  condition  of  affairs  that 
exists  to-day  unless  we  go  right  square  to  the 
source  of  the  evil.  When  the  affairs  of  a  Gov- 
ernment are  not  properly  administered,  and  hon- 
est, upright,  and  conscientious  servants  of  the 


150      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

public  cannot  get  their  just  dues,  the  people  who 
are  at  the  head,  and  have  charge  of  the  manage- 
ment of  that  government,  are  to  blame  for  that 
condition. 

There  is  not  to-day  in  all  this  land  a  school- 
teacher, an  honest  employee,  who  dares  to  open 
his  mouth  against  his  superiors,  no  matter  how 
corrupt  they  may  be. 

Americans  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  are  you 
men  or  mice?  Have  you  manhood  to  defend 
your  rights?  Have  you  courage  to  write  the 
true  condition  of  affairs  to  your  friends,  rela- 
tions, newspapers  and  representatives?  If  you 
have,  and  are  in  favor  of  honest  officials, 
against  dishonest  officials,  right  against  wrong, 
if  you  favor  the  American  Government  of 
these  Islands,  instead  of  the  present  government 
of  the  federal  party,  sit  down  this  very  night 
and  write  and  tell  your  countrymen  the 
truth  the  way  you  see  it.  The  hand  that  will 
dismiss  one  honest  man  to  retain  a  dishonest 
one,  will  dismiss  another.  Be  very  careful  in 
your  letters.  Do  not  be  prejudiced ;  say  naught 
against  the  little  Filipino ;  the  masses  and  major- 
ity of  them  are  not  to  blame  for  the  condition 
of  affairs  that  exists  to-day.  They  are  as  much 
opposed  to  corrupt  officials  as  you  are,  for  the 
hand  that  will  oppress  a  strong-minded  Amer- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       151 

ican  will  crush  the  very  life  out  of  a  poor  Fili- 
pino. Line  your  argument,  reason  and  facts 
against  the  policy  of  the  Commission.  These  are 
the  ones  who  have  appointed  these  corrupt  offi- 
cials, and  they  are  the  ones  who  to-day  retain 
them  in  power  and  position. 

My  countrymen,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  and 
members  of  the  two  Houses  of  Representatives: 
I  do  not  ask  you  to  defend  me  or  help  me  in 
any  way.  I  simply  request,  as  an  American 
citizen,  for  the  honor  of  America  and  the  poor 
people  of  this  country,  that  you  make  an  in- 
vestigation, and  I  pledge  my  sacred  honor  that 
you  will  be  ashamed  of  your  civil  government 
and  its  officials  in  these  Islands. 

It's  shameful ;  it's  pitiful ;  it's  disgusting. 

Amzi  B.  Kelly, 
An  American  Citizen, 

Dismissed  Treasurer,  of  Nueva  Ecija. 

Attached  to  Mr.  Kelly's  statement  were  af- 
fidavits from  a  number  of  Filipinos  supporting 
his  charges,  which  were  made  with  such  specific 
detail,  that  they  certainly  merited  some  reply. 
At  any  rate,  the  statement  is  interesting  as  in- 
dicating the  views  of  an  official  who  had  had  am- 
ple opportunity  of  observing  the  working  of  the 
Commission's  system  of  administration. 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Labor  Problem. — Filipinos  Ingenious  in  Machinery, 
Skilful  Workers  in  Cigar  and  Cigarette  Factories. 
— Absolutely  Unfitted  for  Hard  Manual  Labor. — 
Break  Down  Quickly  under  Strain. — Importation 
of  Chinese  Would  Benefit  All  Classes. — Contract 
Labor  Law  Prevents  Importation  of  Japanese  or 
Indians. — Labor  Unions  in  America  Do  not  Under- 
stand the  Situation. — Strikes  Caused  by  Isabella  de 
los  Reyes. 

The  Labor  problem  in  the  Philippines  is  a 
serious  one.  The  Filipino  people  have  had  an 
opportunity  to  earn  "wages  that  they  never 
dreamed  of  in  Spanish  times,  and  to  have  them 
paid  regularly,  and  the  result  has  been  that 
they  do  not  come  up  to  the  expectations  that 
were  held  on  their  behalf.  In  certain  branches, 
such  as  in  the  cigar  and  cigarette  factories,  they 
are  skilful  workers.  They  are  ingenious  and 
make  fairly  good  machinists.  There  are  very  few 
in  the  cities  who  could  do  outdoor  work,  while 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       153 

in  the  Provinces,  they  are  accustomed  to  look 
upon  it,  unless  working  for  themselves,  as  de- 
grading. Even  those  who  work  for  themselves 
do  not  show  nearly  as  good  results  as  are  ob- 
tained at  plantations  worked  by  imported  labor. 

The  Filipino  is  not  a  hardy  or  robust  man,  nor 
is  he  energetic.  A  very  few  hours  alongside 
a  Chinaman  in  a  rice  field,  expected  to  do  the 
same  amount  of  work,  completely  exhausts  him, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  unfortunate 
exclusion  of  Chinamen  from  the  Philippines  is 
recognized  by  nearly  all  Americans  who  have 
lived  there,  as  a  blow  to  the  business  interests 
of  the  Archipelago.  The  natives  themselves  be- 
gin to  realize  the  same  thing.  The  Filipino  loves 
to  lord  it  over  his  fellows,  and  he  does  it  with 
the  Chinamen  to  his  heart's  delight,  but  at  pres- 
ent, the  coolie  element  of  China  is  lacking.  The 
result  is,  that  the  Chinese  there,  are  now  fast 
rising  to  what  is  considered  in  their  native  vil- 
lages as  wealth,  and  there  are  few  Chinese  in 
the  Philippines  earning  less  than  $30  per  month, 
if  they  have  been  any  time  in  the  Philippines  and 
speak  English,  while  large  numbers  drift  into 
business  and  accumulate  fortunes.  The  Chinese 
residents  even  have  their  own  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 

Continued  experience  has  conclusively  demon- 


154      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

strated  that  the  Filipino  is  not  willing  to  per- 
form hard  physical  labor,  such  as  with  the  pick 
and  shovel,  if  he  can  in  any  way  avoid  it,  and 
there  are  instances  where  he  has  starved,  rather 
than  undergo  the  exertion  which  such  a  class 
of  labor  demands.  A  case  in  point,  is  the  Ben- 
guet  road,  which  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  and 
just  illustration.  The  men  who  went  to  work 
on  this  undertaking  were  out  of  employment  and 
literally  starving.  They  were  paid  good  wages, 
given  transportation,  very  good  food  and  quar- 
ters. They  were  not  pushed  or  driven  at  their 
work,  in  fact,  the  fickleness  of  Filipinos  being 
realized,  they  were  treated  most  liberally  and  with 
every  possible  consideration,  with  what  result? 
At  the  end  of  a  week,  ninety  percent  of  the 
men  returned  to  Manila.  They  did  not  like  the 
work.  Meanwhile  the  Benguet  road  is  still  drag- 
ging along  its  weary  length,  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  spent,  and  its  finish  an  indef- 
inite matter. 

Senator  Lodge  in  the  Senate  stated  that  the 
Filipino  worked  in  the  rice  field  under  a  sun 
which  is  even  too  much  for  a  Chinaman,  though 
where  he  could  have  got  his  information,  people 
in  the  Philippines  would  very  much  like  to  know. 
The  Filipino  does  labor  there  for  two  or  at  most 
three  months  in  a  year,  and  tnen  needs  recupera- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       155 

tion,  which  he  takes  for  the  following  nine  or 
ten  months,  as  he  earns  enough  from  his  labor 
in  the  fields,  to  supply  his  wants  for  a  year.  One 
of  the  greatest  complaints  since  the  American 
occupation,  is  that  the  Filipino,  when  he  has 
saved  money  that  he  thinks  will  keep  him  with- 
out doing  anything  for  a  month,  will  throw  up 
his  position,  and  take  his  chances  of  getting  an- 
other. This,  of  course,  does  not  apply  to  the 
educated  class,  clerks,  bookkeepers,  and  so  forth, 
who  generally  have  a  vein  of  ambition  and  a 
desire  to  rise. 

The  only  conclusion,  therefore,  that  one  can 
come  to,  is  that  the  Filipino  laborer  works  for 
such  time  as  dire  need  compels  him,  and  no 
longer.  He  has  been  tried  now  for  some  time, 
and  has  been  found  wanting.  If  Chinese  labor 
is  imported,  it  is  the  coolie  class  who  come, 
and  whose  importation  is  desired,  and  it  stands 
to  reason,  that  all  such  kinds  of  work  as  the 
Filipino  likes  and  will  gladly  accept,  will  be  great- 
ly increased.  Office  forces  will  need  to  be 
doubled  and  trebled.  The  number  of  skilled  fac- 
tory hands  will  need  to  be  doubled  and  trebled. 
All  classes  of  skilled  labor  will  be  in  demand. 
The  result  will  be  a  general  advance  for  the 
betterment  of  the  more  desirable  element  of  the 
Filipino  population. 


156      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

In  regard  to  the  provincial  Filipinos,  somewhat 
similar  results  will  be  obtained.  Work  always 
creates  work.  Given  a  Chinese  doing  the  heavy 
toil,  lighter  places  would  soon  be  found  for  the 
less  drudging,  but  more  apt  and  versatile  na- 
tive. He  makes  a  good  "boss"  for  the  Chinese, 
and  his  services  would  be  more  in  demand  than 
now,  when  he  has  a  monopoly  of  all  such  labor. 
But  even  if  he  wished  to  labor  in  the  field 
he  would  not  be  denied  such.  The  Chi- 
nese would  by  no  means  exclude  him. 
In  Manila,  they  are  seen  laboring  side  by  side. 

It  can  thus  be  seen  that  the  importation  of 
Chinese  coolies  would  not  harm,  but  would  ben- 
efit the  Filipino.  Moreover,  they  could  be  taken 
there  under  contract.  Merchants  or  capitalists 
in  the  Philippines,  would  be  only  too  willing 
to  put  up  the  necessary  bonds  to  insure  their 
return,  and  a  strict  accountability  under  the  law. 
As  matters  now  stand,  development  is  not  only 
hindered  but  prevented.  Prospective  capital  has 
repeatedly  gone,  seen  and  been  conquered,  go- 
ing home  in  unmitigated  and  unqualified  dis- 
gust, and  the  outlook  promises  only  aggrava- 
tion of  such  conditions.  In  the  face  of  such 
adverse  circumstances,  certain  concerns  will 
doubtless  go  ahead,  and  for  a  time,  by  a  tour  de 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      157 

force,  secure  laborers.  The  result  will  be  a  still 
greater  dearth  in  the  labor  market. 

With  such  conditions  confronting,  the  situa- 
tion assumes  a  most  serious  aspect.  If  capital 
is  discouraged  now,  while  all  eyes  are  directed 
there,  the  Philippines  will  receive  a  set-back  from 
which  it  will  take  years  to  recover. 

The  chief  agencies  at  work  in  bringing  about 
such  an  unpromising  state  of  affairs,  are  the 
views  of  the  Administration,  the  attitude  of  the 
Filipinos,  and  the  labor  unions  in  the  United 
States.  As  to  the  two  former,  their  conceptions 
of  what  the  importation  of  Chinese  means,  is 
erroneous;  as  to  the  latter,  argument  seems 
hardly  necessary.  In  so  far  as  the  labor  unions 
can  have  objection  to  Chinese  labor  in  the  Phil- 
ippines, they  could  be  easily  enlightened.  The 
Philippines  have  already  been  treated  as  a  leg- 
islative exception ;  in  the  matter  of  the  Exclu- 
sion Law,  like  treatment  could  be  applied.  The 
labor  question  in  the  States  affords  no  precedent 
or  parallel  for  the  labor  question  in  the  Philip- 
pines. They  are  not  in  the  same  class.  The 
Philippines  also  offer  no  opportunities  for  the 
American  laborer.  These  facts  being  recognized 
and  the  Golden  Gate  being  shut  against  the  Phil- 
ippine Chinese,  the  problem  is  solved  so  far  as 
the  labor  unions  are  concerned. 


158       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

To  the  labor  question  in  the  Philippines  one 
answer  can  be  given.  They  need  and  should 
have  Chinese.  On  the  one  hand  they  have  stag- 
nation and  poverty ;  on  the  other,  industry,  devel- 
opment and  prosperity. 

The  great  business  concerns  in  the  Philippines 
are  at  a  standstill  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
for  lack  of  labor,  and  the  experience  of  a  large 
employer  is  that  it  takes  three  Filipinos  to  do 
the  same  amount  of  labor  that  one  American  does 
in  a  day.  This  applies  particularly  to  carpen- 
ters and  skilled  labor  of  such  nature.  Mr.  E. 
C.  McCuIlough,  who  has  the  largest  printing 
house  in  the  Philippines,  pays  Filipinos,  as  fold- 
ers $io  Mexican  per  week,  three  of  whom  do 
less  than  one  girl  getting  from  seven  to  ten  dol- 
lars, U.  S.  currency,  would  do  here.  This  ap- 
plies to  typesetters,  pressmen,  and  everything 
throughout  McCullough's  premises,  showing  that 
Filipino  labor  is  not  cheap  labor,  but  costs  more 
for  the  same  amount  done,  than  it  would  in  the 
United  States. 

There  has  been  talk  of  bringing  in  large  bodies 
of  workmen  from  Japan,  but  thqre  are  two  ele- 
ments that  interfere  with  this  plan;  firstly,  the 
Japanese  Emigration  Law  prohibits  the  emigra- 
tion of  their  coolies,  excepting  under  special 
contracts  approved  by  the  Government,  and  which 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      159 

have  to  be  carried  out  to  the  letter  by  the  em- 
ployer, such  as  medical  attention,  food,  holidays, 
and  numerous  other  details;  secondly,  even  were 
this  to  be  overcome,  which  could  doubtless  be 
done,  there  would  be  trouble  in  the  Manila  cus- 
tom house,  about  labor  imported  under  contract. 
Consequently  that  for  the  present  seems  not  to 
be  feasible. 

As  an  instance  of  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
labor,  may  be  mentioned  the  importation  of  a 
thousand  jin-rickshaws,  and  the  attempt  to  get 
men  to  pull  them.  A  company  was  founded,  the" 
capital  subscribed,  and  the  rickshaws  imported, 
but  no  labor  could  be  obtained.  Three  Chinese 
started  out  with  their  rickshaws,  but  the  com- 
pany found  it  impossible  to  make  arrangements 
with  any  large  body  of  men;  in  fact,  they  were 
not  there.  The  majority  of  the  Chinese  left 
were  making  far  too  much  in  other  directions 
for  them  to  take  to  the  hard  manual  labor  of 
rickshaw  pulling.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Fil- 
ipinos were  not  only  unable,  but  unwilling,  and 
the  consequence  is,  that  the  rickshaws  are  lying 
in  Manila  useless,  badly  as  they  are  needed  in 
the  streets  for  transportation. 

With  the  power  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Com- 
mission, it  is  easy  for  them  to  do  something, 
such  as  passing  some  law  which  would  simplify 


160      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

the  labor  problem,  but  apparently  they  do  not 
have  the  desire  to  do  it.  When  they  wish,  they 
pass  laws  that  override  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  itself,  but  where  it  is  anything  that 
would  benefit  capital,  and  thereby  the  other  in- 
terests of  the  Philippines,  they  remain  quiescent 
and  say  they  have  no  power  to  do  anything. 

Another  feature  that  has  caused  a  consider- 
able amount  of  annoyance  to  business  in  Manila, 
has  been  strikes,  which  have  been  caused  by  a 
man  named  Isabella  de  los  Reyes,  who  has  a 
powerful  influence  among  the  uneducated  Fil- 
ipino workmen,  and  has  caused  them  to  go 
out  of  places  where  they  had  worked  at  good 
wages,  and  demand  an  enormous  increase.  At 
one  time,  there  was  a  considerable  strike  in  the 
printing  business,  which  did  not,  however,  affect 
the  newspapers,  but  was  directed  more  against 
the  men  who  ran  printing  establishments  in  the 
city. 

Two  hundred  of  McCullough's  men  went  out 
one  Monday  morning,  demanding  an  increase 
of  twenty  percent  all  around.  Mr.  McCullough 
saw  the  leaders  of  his  own  men,  and  they  agreed 
with  him  that  their  wages  were  liberal,  and  some 
even  admitted  that  they  knew  that  if  he  could 
not  get  other  laborers,  or  if  he  had  to  accede  to 
the  demand,  it  meant  an  immense  rise  of  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       161 

already  high  prices  of  printing  in  the  Philippines, 
or  else  that  the  business  would  have  to  suspend 
indefinitely,  but  they  had  joined  an  organization 
of  which  Isabella  de  los  Reyes  was  the  head,  and 
he  had  told  them  they  must  do  as  he  said.  In 
a  week's  time,  those  who  had  no  money  left,  re- 
turned and  went  to  work,  and  the  rest  of  them 
gradually  came  back,  so  that  in  less  than  three 
weeks  they  were  at  work  again.  As  an  instance 
of  the  causelessness  of  the  strike,  it  may  be 
stated  that  men  in  McCullough's,  who,  three 
years  ago  were  receiving  the  old  Spanish  wages 
of  three  or  four  dollars  a  week,  were  getting  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  dollars.  Printing  is  abnor- 
mally high  in  the  Philippines.  The  reason  for 
this  is  the  cost  of  labor  and  the  necessity  of  hav- 
ing one  hundred  and  fifty  Filipinos  to  do  what 
fifty  men  could  do  in  the  United  States. 

Isabella  de  los  Reyes  also  organized  a  strike 
among  the  dockmen  and  lightermen,  many  of 
whom  were  earning  from  one  to  two  dollars  a 
day,  U.  S.  currency,  with  the  result  of  a  great 
interference  with  shipping  and  the  final  defeat 
of  the  men,  who  demanded  the  same  as  they 
would  be  paid  in  the  United  States  for  the  same 
class  of  work,  which  would  have  meant  ruin 
to  the  shipping,  as  it  would  take  three  men  to 
do  the  work  one  does  in  America. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Currency  Question. — Governmental  Salaries  Nom- 
inally Gold,  Paid  in  Mexican  Silver. — Ide  Refuses 
to  Make  Fluctuating  Ratio  on  the  Importation  of 
Mexican  Silver  in  Order  to  Keep  the  Ratio  Two 
for  One. — Prices  Increased  Enormously. — An  Iowa 
Teacher's  Letter  to  Secretary  Shaw. — A  Well 
Known  Banker's  View  of  the  Situation. — ^A  Mer- 
chant's Views. 

The  enormous  decline  in  the  value  of  silver 
in  the  past  year  has  been  an  immense  hardship 
to  all  classes  in  the  Philippines.  The  Commis- 
sion refused  to  aid  or  assist  the  merchants  and 
even  their  own  employees  in  any  way  with  regard 
to  the  matter,  preferring  to  leave  it  in  the  hands 
of  Congress,  and  Congress  did  nothing. 

One  of  the  principal  faults  was  the  con- 
tracting of  governmental  salaries  throughout  the 
Archipelago,  in  American  gold,  unless  it  was  the 
intention  to  pay  in  American  gold.  The  fact 
that  the  Commission  took  this  course  without 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       163 

having  the  gold  to  carry  it  through,  has  been 
the  cause  of  more  trouble  and  annoyance  than 
anything  else  since  the  American  regime  com- 
menced. The  military  authorities  had  made  a 
compulsory  ratio  of  two  dollars  Mexican  for 
one  American,  and  as  the  fluctuation  in  silver 
at  the  time  was  very  slight,  that  parity  was 
maintained  until  the  first  of  January,  1902,  when 
the  Commission  decided  that  it  was  necessary, 
owing  to  the  fall  of  silver,  to  change  the  ratio, 
and  it  was  made  two  and  one-tenth  for  the  next 
three  months. 

Almost  as  though  their  action  had  caused  it, 
silver  immediately  fell  ten  or  twelve  points,  with 
the  result  of  again  causing  hardship  to  all  those 
receiving  their  gold  salaries  on  a  Mexican  basis. 

The  acting  Governor  and  Commissioner  Ide, 
under  whose  special  department  it  was,  were 
urged  and  implored  by  the  bankers,  merchants 
and  others,  not  to  interfere  with  the  currency,  un- 
less they  made  a  final  alteration  to  some  differ- 
ent coinage.  It  was  pointed  out  to  Commis- 
sioner Ide,  that  the  putting  of  a  tax  on  the  im- 
portation of  Mexican  dollars,  fluctuating  from 
day  to  day  with  the  market  price  of  silver  and 
the  difference  between  that  and  the  ratio  of  two 
for  one,  would  be  temporarily  a  better  solution 
of  the  question,  and  that  he  would  not  thereby 


164      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

overthrow  all  confidence  in  the  stability  of  the 
currency,  but  he  decided  against  this  apparently 
only  logical  solution  of  the  question,  and  the 
ratio  was  made.  From  the  first  day,  trouble  be- 
gan. Prices  went  up  with  leaps  and  bounds. 
Nearly  everybody  who  kept  a  store  immediately 
went  on  a  gold  basis,  some  even  charging  Amer- 
ican dollars  where  they  had  formerly  charged 
Mexican.  Mexicans  were  accepted  only  at  the 
bank  rate,  and  the  government  ratio  was  ignored, 
except  where  the  government  paid  out  salaries  to 
its  employees. 

Meetings  have  been  held  by  the  various  Cham- 
bers of  Commerce,  separately  and  jointly,  and 
every  effort  has  been  made  to  urge,  first,  on  the 
Commission  and  then  on  Congress,  the  absolute 
necessity  that  something  should  be  done  to  al- 
leviate the  situation,  which,  owing  to  the  com- 
plicated governmental  system  of  paying  in  Mex- 
ican silver  the  salaries  contracted  for  in  gold, 
has  put  everybody  into  a  complete  muddle. 

The  teachers  have  felt  the  effect  of  this  method 
of  pajrment  severely,  and  many  and  loud  have 
been  the  complaints,  both  in  private  and  through 
the  public  press.  One  teacher  who  came  from 
Iowa,  wrote  a  letter  on  the  subject  to  the  Hon. 
Leslie  M.  Shaw,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  set- 
ting before  him  the  grievances  of  the  teachers,  in 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       165 

regard  to  the  currency.     The  following  are  ex- 
tracts from  the  letter: 


"We  have  waited  and  hoped  for  relief  until 
hope  is  gone.  Allison's  last  speech  makes  every 
lowan  in  these  Islands  blush  with  shame.  We 
who  were  so  proud  of  our  State  and  our  coun- 
try, are  ashamed  that  such  utter  folly  came  from 
one  of  ours. 

"Every  one  in  these  Islands,  even  ex-populists, 
unless  connected  with  gambling  concerns  known 
here  as  banks,  earnestly  desires  an  honest,  re- 
deemable American  dollar. 

"This  is  how  the  Mexican  money  system  works 
here  at  present. 

"First,  for  the  army:  Soldiers  are  paid  in 
gold.  To  spend  this  they  must  change  it  to  Mex- 
ican below  the  legal  rate  and  lose,  yet  their  loss 
is  far  less  than  ours. 

"Second,  for  the  civilian:  If  he  is  a  disburs- 
ing officer,  and  pays  himself  in  gold  or  Mexican, 
he  can  make  money  honestly  by  using  one  or 
the  other  as  suits  his  convenience.  Were  he 
dishonest,  it  is  an  excellent  field,  for  the  change 
in  rate  would  make  it  easily  possible  for  a  man 
of  very  ordinary  mind,  successfully  to  cover  dis- 
honest operations.  You  have  only  to  think  a  mo- 
ment to  see  how  this  is  possible.     Of  course,  I 


166      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

would  not  imply  that  this  is  ever  done,  though 
many  think  so,  just  as  many  think  that  large  sums 
are  paid  by  Manila  banks  to  keep  out  the  gold 
standard.  It  is  almost  libel  here,  even  to  think 
of  such  things,  so  we  try  not  to  do  so.  But  the 
bank  gains,  and  all  others,  including  the  govern- 
ment, lose.  These  gambling  concerns  could  af- 
ford to  pay  well,  which  is  as  much  as  is  at  pres- 
ent known. 

"Third,  for  civilians  not  disbursing  officers: 
We  receive  what  is  called  a  voucher.     It  states 
that  we  have  received  our  exact  salary  in  United' 
States  currency.     We  sign  the  lie  or  starve,  well' 
knowing  that  we  will  get  in  exchange  a  check 
for  local  currency.     At  present,  we  get  this  at' 
2.27.     Those    who   have    loved   ones  dependent 
upon  them  at  home,  immediately  pay  at  the  bank 
as  high  as  2.40  or  2.50  on  the  very  day  they  take 
payment  at  2.27.     Teachers  stationed  in  the  Prov- 
inces can  get  no  chance  to  change  Mexican  money 
for  months,  while  its  value  melts  away  like  ice 
in  the  tropical  sun. 

"Were  we  people  of  leisure,  we  might  spend 
the  month  en  route  to  Manila  for  money,  or  still 
better,  we  might  follow  the  army  paymaster,  and 
rob  our  poor  soldier  boys,  even  as  the  Chino 
does,  or  give  them  justice  and  come  out  even, 
while  really  aiding  them.     But  teachers  are  gen- 


W.  MORGAN  SHUSTER. 
Chief  Collector  of  Customs  of  the  Philippines. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      167 

erally  at  isolated  places,  and  are  forbidden  to 
leave  their  station,  even  if,  by  chance,  they  should 
happen  to  know  when  the  troops  are  paid.  In 
the  Provinces,  too,  we  often  get  our  vouchers 
long  months  after  service  was  rendered,  and  when 
the  check  comes,  finally,  it  is  at  the  old  rate. 
For  instance,  through  no  fault  of  mine,  vouchers 
for  November,  December,  January  and  February 
night-school  work,  reached  me  only  a  few  days 
ago.  During  the  first  two  months,  the  rate  was 
'two  to  one.'  The  second  two  months  it  was 
*2.io  to  one.'  My  checks  will  be  made  at  these 
rates.  When  I  change  this  back  to  money,  if 
I  may  be  so  fortunate,  it  will  not  even  be  at  the 
current  rate,  2.27,  but  at  2.45  or  more. 

"Those  who  have  dependent  loved  ones  and 
wish  to  keep  up  life  insurance  policies,  must 
pay  this  bank  rate,  for  the  government,  repre- 
sented by  the  post-office,  will  not  accept  from  us 
this  Mexican  abomination  in  which  we  are  paid, 
and  in  which,  if  Senator  Allison  has  his  way, 
we  are  always  to  be  paid.  Ofifer  to  resign,  you 
dare  not,  for  a  neat  circular,  sent  out  early  by 
this  Mexican  government,  threatens  you  with  a 
damage  suit,  and  you  come  home  under  a  cloud, 
at  your  own  risk  and  at  your  own  expense.  Even 
this  is  impossible,  for  few,  if  any,  teachers  here 
have  enough  saved  to  take  them  home. 


168      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

"Superintendent  Atkinson,  in  addition  to  the 
manifold  cares  of  administration,  has  this  an- 
noyance also;  and,  in  common  with  the  division 
superintendents,  an  added  loss  from  spending 
money  for  necessary  traveling  expenses,  and  re- 
ceiving it  back  months  later  in  this  depreciated 
currency  of  an  alien  government. 

"A  division  superintendent  here,  working  at 
a  salary  far  below  what  either  his  influence  here, 
or  his  labor  merits,  has  told  me  that  he  has  over 
four  hundred  pesos  now  tied  up  in  traveling  and 
other  necessary  expenses  of  official  character. 
Much  of  it  was  sent  at  two  to  one.  He  would 
gladly  sell  his  expense  account  at  2.50  to  one, 
thus  losing  one  dollar  in  every  five.  Is  it  right? 
Would  the  President  approve  if  he  knew  ?  Even 
populists  here,  would  gladly  accept  the  Nebras- 
kan's  'cross  of  gold'  instead  of  the  'thorns' 
which  are  rather  abundant  in  this  situation. 

"Teachers  here  do  not  complain  under  the  many 
hardships  of  the  service,  of  anything  else  save 
this  discreditable  action  on  the  part  of  our  gov- 
ernment. Neither  do  they  complain  of  this  loss, 
which  amounts  to  thousands  monthly  in  the 
aggregate,  if  this  money  benefited  either  the  poor 
Filipino  or  the  national  government.  On  the 
contrary,  both  are  also  robbed. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      169 

"Can  you  not  find  a  solution  to  this  problem 
that  will  give  justice  to  all?" 


When  the  first  Commission  was  in  the  Phil- 
ippines, Colonel  Denby  saw  the  local  bankers  on 
the  subject,  and  the  following  is  a  copy  of  a  let- 
ter sent  to  him  by  the  manager  of  one  of  the 
leading  banks  in  Manila  at  the  Colonel's  request : 

The  copy  was  given  to  the  author  by  the  banker 
himself. 

"Dating  from  the  year  1877,  when  the  Span- 
ish Government  found  that  the  gold  currency 
in  these  Islands  was  rapidly  leaving,  owing  to 
the  depreciation  of  silver,  and  the  large  influx 
of  Mexican  dollars,  the  currency  here  has  been 
in  anything  but  a  satisfactory  condition. 

"In  1878,  the  Government,  in  order  to  check 
the  heavy  export  of  gold  currency  from  the  Phil- 
ippines, passed  a  law  prohibiting  the  import  of 
Mexican  dollars,  but  allowed  the  dollars  then 
in  the  country  to  circulate  as  legal  tender. 

"Had  it  been  possible  to  carry  out  strictly  this 
law,  the  currency  of  the  Islands  might  still  have 
remained  on  a  gold  basis,  but  with  the  deprecia- 
tion of  the  white  metal,  and  the  consequent  in- 
crease in  premium  offering  in  gold,  smuggling 
was  carried  on  to  such  an  enormous  extent,  be- 


170      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ing  openly  winked  at  and  aided  by  the  Spanish 
customs  and  other  officials,  that  in  the  year  1885, 
when  the  writer  arrived  in  Manila,  the  gold  cur- 
rency was  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  Mexican  dol- 
lars ruled  all  through  the  Islands,  the  native  ac- 
cepting the  silver  dollar  as  of  the  same  purchas- 
ing value  as  the  old  gold  dollar. 

"Under  this  condition  of  affairs,  the  value  of 
the  dollar  here  for  trade  purposes,  for  some  years, 
fluctuated  with  the  price  of  silver  as  in  other 
silver  countries,  with  the  one  exception,  that  the 
Mexican  dollar  being  prohibited  by  law  from 
entry,  whenever  there  was  a  scarcity  of  curren- 
cy, owing  to  heavy  crops  or  from  other  causes, 
the  value  of  the  Mexican  dollar  rose  by  a  natural 
process,  to  a  point  which  would  tempt  smugglers 
to  bring  in  coin,  allowing  them  ample  margin 
for  a  substantial  profit  on  the  operation,  after 
paying  the  heavy  bribes  which  were  necessary 
to  square  the  various  officials  whose  aid  was  re- 
quired to  smuggle  dollars  in.  Consequently,  ex- 
change on  China,  whence  the  dollars  were 
brought  over,  fluctuated  as  much  as  ten  to  fif- 
teen percent,  when  coin  was  required,  dropping 
quickly  to  par  when  the  demand  was  satisfied. 

"Between  the  years  1888  and  1897,  several 
schemes  were  proposed  by  the  Madrid  Govern- 
ment, for  calling  in  Mexican  dollars,  and  replac- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      171 

ing  the  same  by  Spanish  currency,  in  order  to 
restore  the  parity  of  exchange  between  Madrid 
and  Manila,  hardly  from  philanthropic  motives, 
but  rather  to  assist  the  influential  Catalan  man- 
ufacturers who  exported  largely  to  the  Philip- 
pines, protected  by  the  heavy  duties  imposed  on 
foreign  manufactured  goods,  from  which  they 
were  free.  This  action  was  taken  for  another 
reason,  to  still  the  bitter  complaints  of  the  large 
army  of  military,  naval  and  civil  officials,  who, 
being  paid  from  the  colonial  treasury,  were  yearly 
suffering  from  the  combined  fall  in  the  price  of 
the  silver  dollar.  Although  various  feasible 
schemes  were  discussed,  the  home  government 
found  itself  hampered  at  every  pass  by  lack  of 
funds  and  poor  credit,  essentials  necessary  to 
have  enabled  it  to  work  such  an  important  finan- 
cial operation  as  the  calling  in  of  several  mil- 
lion dollars. 

"In  fact,  so  acute  were  the  financial  difficul- 
ties, that  even  with  this  continued  pressure  be- 
ing brought  on  different  ministries  to  place  the 
currency  here  on  a  Spanish  basis,  they  did  not 
hesitate  to  recoin  several  millions  of  Mexican 
dollars  into  a  local  half  dollar  and  twenty  cent 
piece  of  low  touch  and  light  weight,  on  which  op- 
eration there  was  a  clean  profit  of  ten  percent  to 
the  treasury.  It  was  proposed  to  utilize  this  profit 


172      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

in  paying  a  preferential  exchange  on  sums  re- 
mitted home  by  government  officials,  but  the 
amount  was  finally  amalgamated  in  the  general 
budget. 

"This  reckless  policy  was  continued  up  to  the 
year  1897,  when,  to  make  matters  worse,  there 
was  sent  from  Madrid  to  meet  the  heavy  war  ex- 
penses, six  million  dollars,  of  a  specially  coined 
silver  dollar  marked  'Filipinas'  of  the  same  touch 
and  weight  as  the  Spanish  silver  dollar,  some 
eight  percent  under  the  value  of  the  Mexican. 
It  was  greatly  feared,  at  the  time,  that  these 
depreciated  coins  added  to  the  large  amount  of 
half  dollars  and  twenty  cent  pieces  already  in 
circulation,  would  depreciate  the  currency  of  the 
country  to  a  further  extent.  That  such  a  catas- 
trophe has  been  avoided,  is  due  only  to  the  won- 
derful capacity  the  country  has  for  absorbing 
coin  among  the  many  producing  Provinces  in 
the  Archipelago,  where  the  natives  are  very  apt 
to  hoard  their  earnings  by  burying  them. 

"On  the  arrival  of  the  American  army,  and  the 
establishment  of  the  United  States  Government 
here,  the  very  serious  question  of  the  currency 
was  brought  up  in  a  peremptory  manner  by  the 
introduction  of  large  sums  of  United  States  gold 
brought  in  with  the  troops.  It  was  necessary 
without  delay,  to  make  some  stable  basis  for  ex- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       173 

change,  as  the  natives,  used  so  long  to  value  their 
products  on  a  silver  dollar,  refused  roundly  to 
accept  the  gold  dollar  for  two  silver  dollars,  and 
the  commercial  world  was  unwilling  to  exchange 
the  gold  for  silver  at  current  value,  unless  there 
was  some  guarantee  that  they  would  be  allowed 
free  entry  of  this  latter  coin  to  meet  the  increased 
demand. 

"The  United  States  authorities,  on  the  peti- 
tion of  the  banks  and  leading  business  firms, 
very  properly  gave  the  necessary  permission,  thus 
averting  a  grave  monetary  crisis,  fixing  a  steady 
course  of  exchange  which  has  ruled  ever  since, 
only  varied  by  the  fluctuations  in  the  value  of 
the  Mexican  dollars  in  London  and  San  Fran- 
cisco. There  have  been  considerable  imports  of 
Mexican  dollars  during  the  past  six  months,  to 
meet  the  heavy  local  demand  caused  by  the  res- 
idence of  such  a  large  number  of  troops  in  the 
Islands,  and  already  not  only  have  the  banks 
none  of  the  Spanish  dollars,  half  dollars  and 
twenty  cent  pieces  referred  to  previously,  which 
have  gone  into  circulation,  but  there  is  now  a 
shortage  of  subsidiary  coinage. 

"This  introduction  of  clean,  Mexican  dollars,  as 
the  currency  of  the  Islands,  has  been  welcomed 
heartily  by  all  sections  of  the  mercantile  com- 
munity, and  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  leading  finan- 


174      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

cial  people  here,  the  only  currency  suited  to  the 
Islands  for  the  present.  Any  introduction  of  a 
gold  coinage,  if  considered  advisable,  should  be 
made  very  gradually,  and  in  the  most  practical 
manner  after  years  of  careful  study,  as  any  sud- 
den disturbance  of  the  monetary  system  might 
ruin  for  years  the  fine  and  increasing  export  trade 
of  the  Islands. 

"In  the  first  place,  natives  in  the  Provinces 
getting,  as  they  do,  their  requirements  almost 
exclusively  from  local  production  while  receiving 
to-day,  say  ten  dollars  silver  (average  price) 
for  their  picul  of  hemp,  pay  in  wages  and  for 
their  own  wants  in  this  coin.  Were  a  gold  cur- 
rency established,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  that  they 
would  receive  five  dollars  gold  for  this  same 
quantity  of  hemp,  (barely  cost  of  production  in 
silver  coin)  but  they  would  still  have  to  con- 
tinue paying  labor  and  expenses  on  the  basis 
of  the  silver  currency,  or  at  any  rate  for  some 
years  to  come,  until  such  time  as  a  greatly  in- 
creased use  of  imported  goods  would  bring  com- 
pensation by  the  native  getting  value  for  his  gold 
dollar. 

"As  far  as  local  commodities  go,  it  is  unlikely 
that  values  would  be  affected  by  a  change  of  cur- 
rency, until,  by  the  opening  of  railways  and  the 
employment  of  improved  labor-saving  machinery. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       175 

the  country,  adjusting  itself  to  the  influence  of 
civilization,  would  find  in  imported  goods  some 
fairer  purchasing  power  for  its  gold  dollar  and, 
moreover,  by  the  better  quality  of  its  exports,  ob- 
tain higher  prices  to  meet  the  enhanced  cost  in 
production,  which  a  gold  currency  naturally 
would  bring  with  it.  Education  also  would  bring 
with  it  fresh  wants  in  the  satisfaction  of  which 
the  native  would  get  a  fairer  value  for  the  gold 
dollar  paid  him,  but  I  maintain  that  until  this 
period  arrives,  producers  will  be  unable  to  pay 
their  way,  if  they  sell  on  the  basis  of  a  gold  dol- 
lar, and  were  such  a  regime  forced  on  the  coun- 
try, unprepared  as  it  is  to  meet  it,  a  grave  and 
precipitate  agricultural  crisis  would  have  to  be 
faced. 

"Again,  with  exchange  here  on  a  par  or  nearly 
so  with  other  silver-using  eastern  countries,  we 
have  always  open  a  profitable  market  for  the 
produce  of  these  Islands  and  general  inter-trade, 
especially  with  Japan  and  China,  which  absorb 
to-day  the  larger  part  of  our  sugar  crops.  Any 
interference  with  the  currency  would  seriously 
handicap  trade  with  these  markets,  to  which  there 
will  always  be  a  natural  flow  of  the  products  of 
the  Philippines  owing  to  proximity  and  other 
natural  conditions,  as  long  as  no  heavy  differences 
in  exchange  have  to  be  calculated  for  in  prices. 


176      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

"Finally,  when  studying  the  question  of  a 
United  States  gold  currency,  there  must  be  faced 
the  vital  question  of  the  disposal  of  the  large 
stocks  of  silver  now  in  the  Islands,  and  the  heavy 
loss  to  be  borne  by  some  one  in  replacing  these 
by  United  States  gold  coin,  besides  many  other 
grave  possibilities  which  have  as  yet  made  even 
the  great  financiers,  who  have  under  their  care 
the  ultimate  conversion  of  the  British-India  rupee 
currency  to  a  gold  basis,  hesitate  before  making 
any  sudden  and  sweeping  change  in  the  monetary 
system  of  that  great  dependency. 

"I  attach  an  opinion  on  currency  by  a  leading 
exporter  here,  which  may  interest  you,  being 
given  in  his  own  words: 

"  *With  exchange  at  four  percent,  the  pres- 
ent value  of  Iloilo  sugar  would  be  forty-five  dol- 
lars United  States  gold  per  ton  as  against  ninety 
dollars  Mexican  to-day.  This  sugar,  it  is  esti- 
mated, costs  to  produce  thirty-two  dollars,  the 
same  in  gold  or  silver  currency.  It  would  take 
years  of  discontent  to  lower  wages  to  a  gold  basis, 
or  as  is  more  likely,  by  an  influx  of  capital,  mate- 
rially improve  the  outrun  of  the  estates,  which 
Would  be  an  impossible  task,  when  treating  with 
small  proprietors  who  are  rarely  free  from  debt, 
and  would  only  lead  to  change  of  ownership. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       177 

"*As  regards  hemp,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  Manila's  greatest  competitor  is  sisal,  a  prod- 
uct of  Mexico,  a  country  on  a  silver  basis.  The 
lowest  price  that  sisal  can  be  produced  at,  is  about 
two  and  a  half  cents  per  pound.  Were  three 
and  a  half  cents  per  pound  to  be  paid  for  Manila 
hemp,  as  it  was  in  the  beginning  of  1898,  the 
result  would  be,  if  payment  was  made  on  a  gold 
basis  in  the  Philippines,  ruin,  whereas,  on  a  sil- 
ver basis,  the  natives  are  fairly  prosperous. 

"  'It  is  quite  impossible  to  teach  natives  the 
appreciable  difference  between  gold  and  silver.  As 
a  general  rule,  even  the  highly  educated  man  has 
no  ambition  to  leave  his  own  country,  and  reckons 
his  fortune  by  the  currency  of  the  Islands,  nor 
does  he  look  when  receiving  product  of  the  sale 
of  his  sugar  or  hemp,  whether  payment  is  in  gold 
or  silver,  naturally  taking  as  his  standard,  the 
time  when  he  received  the  highest  price  in  dol- 
lars for  his  produce.  It  would  mean  discomfort 
amongst  all  classes  were  there  a  sudden  drop 
of  fifty  percent  in  prices  on  a  change  in  cur- 
rency, which  would  be  deemed  a  calamity,  where- 
as the  gradual  fall  in  the  price  of  the  silver  dol- 
lar in  recent  years,  and  the  consequent  increase 
in  dollar  value  of  produce  has  been  reckoned  in 
the  Islands  as  an  era  of  prosperity,  the  natives 
passing  here  the  sugar  crisis  of  1894  and  1895, 


178      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

without  any  serious  inconvenience,  where  in  Java, 
trade  was  ruined  for  nearly  two  years.  The 
same  was  the  case  in  1896  and  1897,  when  hemp 
touched  in  gold  the  lowest  price  ever  known. 

"  'What  the  country  requires  is  a  silver  cur- 
rency with  more  subsidiary  coinage  (silver  and 
copper),  also  an  issue  of  notes  to  a  moderate 
amount,  preferably  government  paper,  redeem- 
able in  Mexican  dollars  and  local  silver  coin.'  " 

The  American  merchants  now  are  unanimously 
in  favor  of  immediately  going  on  a  United 
States  currency  basis,  thereby  settling  all  diffi- 
culties, buying  up  the  Mexican,  and  making  it 
illegal  tender  after  a  stated  time.  Even  bankers 
and  other  merchants  have  altered  their  opinion 
since  the  time  when  the  bank  manager  gave  his 
views  on  the  subject  to  Colonel  Denby,  in  1899. 
If  nothing  has  already  been  done  by  the  Com- 
mission to  alleviate  matters  beyond  the  coinage 
of  silver  dollars,  which,  added  to  the  Mexican 
now  in  use,  will  make  the  situation  worse  than 
it  was  before,  Congress  should  attend  to  this 
question,  and  relieve  not  only  the  merchants  in 
the  Philippines,  but  practically  everybody  in  the 
Archipelago.  This  unquestionably  is  the  crying 
need  of  the  hour  in  the  Philippines. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Religion  in  the  Philippines. — ^Work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

-—Episcopal  Bishop  Appointed. — Methodist,  Presby- 
terian, and  Christian  Science  Churches. — Fondness 
of  the  Filipinos  for  Display  and  Pomp. — The  Fili- 
pinos Fond  of  Religion. — Fiestas. — The  Friar  Ques- 
tion.— Unnecessary  Alarm. — Good  and  Bad  Among 
Them. — In  the  Main  a  Body  of  Christian  Workers 
Who  Have  Been  Responsible  for  Bringing  to  Chris- 
tianity the  Filipinos  as  a  Race. 

The  Protestant  religion  was  practically  non- 
existent in  the  Archipelago  when  it  first  came 
under  the  domination  of  the  United  States.  Since 
that  time  considerable  effort  has  been  made  by 
Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  Bap- 
tists and  Christian  Scientists. 

The  work  done  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  has  been  in- 
defatigable, partly  in  connection  with  the  army 
and  also  with  the  civilians,  and  there  is  no  doubt, 
that  they  have  accomplished  a  considerable 
amount  of  good.  One  of  the  leaders  of  that  or- 
ganization accompanied  the  American  troops  who 


180      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

went  to  China,  in  the  campaign  of  1900,  and 
looked  after  their  welfare  in  a  religious  way,  to 
the  best  of  his  ability,  in  which  he  was  assisted 
by  the  ladies  of  the  various  missions. 

The  Episcopalians  have  built  a  large  wooden 
structure  as  a  temporary  church.  Previously  they 
held  services  in  a  large  room  in  the  Cuartel  de 
Espana,  which  was  formerly  the  artillery  bar- 
racks, but  has  lately  been  used  as  the  barracks 
of  an  infantry  regiment.  The  appointment  of 
Bishop  Brent,  and  the  obtaining  of  sufficient 
funds  to  build  a  cathedral  give  encouragement, 
and  it  is  believed  that  the  Episcopal  Church  will 
do  considerable  mission  work  among  the  Fil- 
ipinos. 

The  Methodists  and  Presbyterians  also  have 
wooden  buildings  where  they  conduct  services, 
and  the  Christian  Scientists  hold  their  services 
in  the  building  formerly  used  by  the  Episcopa- 
lians, in  the  Cuartel  de  Espana,  so  that  taking 
it  all  in  all,  Manila  is  well  supplied  with 
facilities  for  religious  services  outside  of  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Filipinos,  who  are  devoted  to  the 
Church  of  Rome. 

The  Filipino  race  may  in  a  certain  sense  be 
called  religious,  and  they  love  and  admire  the 
display  and  ceremony  which  accompany  their  re- 
ligious observances.  The  Spaniard  recognized  this 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       181 

fact,  as  well  as  the  Filipino's  love  of  idleness,  and 
took  every  opportunity  to  make  public  holidays, 
religion  being  largely  used  for  the  purpose.  Nu- 
merous Saints'  days,  in  which  religious  proces- 
sions largely  figured,  were  made  public  holidays. 

This  question  of  public  holidays  was  one  that 
came  up  before  the  Commission  very  shortly 
after  the  reins  of  government  were  turned  over 
by  the  military  to  the  civil  authorities,  and  the 
number  was  reduced  to  a  very  few,  but  the  law 
is  practically  inoperative,  for  the  large  business 
houses  and  banks  still  close  on  their  own  ac- 
count, whenever  they  see  fit,  which,  as  a  rule, 
is  when  the  natives  expect  one  of  their  customary 
holidays.  A  great  deal  of  indignation  also  was 
expressed  by  Americans,  that  Memorial  Day  was 
not  appointed  a  holiday  by  the  Commission,  but 
the  American  Club,  on  the  occasion,  turned  out 
in  force  and  did  what  it  could  to  obliterate  the 
bad  impression  caused  by  the  action  of  the  Com- 
mission, who  alluded  to  it  sneeringly  as  "acute 
Americanism."  The  Manila  "American,"  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  referring  to  the  matter  in  an 
editorial,  said: 

"It  is  no  discredit  to  be  assaulted  with  the 
epithet  of  'acute  American,'  but  God  knows,  there 
are  enough  men  over  here  who  would  be  bene- 
fited by  an  inoculation  of  any  kind  of  American- 


182      As  It  is  in  the  Philippines. 

ism.  It  is  with  sorrow  that  such  a  confession 
must  be  made,  and  the  fact  that  it  is  true  be- 
yond controversy,  makes  it  all  the  worse.  These 
were  content  to  ignore,  belittle  and  degrade  Me- 
morial Day.  Let  us  hope  that  they  may  draw  some 
inspiration  from  the  demonstrations,  decorations 
and  addresses  of  to-day." 

The  banks  and  various  business  houses  find  it 
necessary  to  give  as  many  holidays  as  possible,  on 
account  of  the  climate.  It  is  nothing  uncom- 
mon during  the  progress  of  a  race  meeting,  for 
the  banks  to  close  four  or  five  days  in  succession 
at  one  o'clock,  so  as  to  give  their  employees 
a  chance  for  recreation.  This,  indeed,  is  cus- 
tomary throughout  the  Orient,  and  Manila  is 
no  exception.  The  Filipinos  will  not  lightly  re- 
linquish the  holidays  to  which  they  have  been 
accustomed,  and  even  if  they  have  to  lose  their 
positions  in  the  Government  employ,  they  will 
keep  their  religious  holidays  as  of  yore. 

A  question  that  has  been  of  serious  portent  to 
the  Commission,  has  been  that  of  the  friars,  which 
still  remains  to  be  settled.  The  friars  have  not 
been  popular  with  the  Filipinos  as  a  whole,  and 
it  is  claimed  that  they  have  been  the  cause  of 
most  of  the  insurrections  that  have  occurred,  nota- 
bly those  of  1872  and  1896.  The  enmity  to  the 
friars  may  be  broadly  stated  to  have  been  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      183 

result  of  two  conditions,  economic  and  religious, 
or  rather  church  policy.  The  first  was  brought 
about  by  the  accumulation  of  vast  estates  by  the 
religious  orders,  together  with  the  ten  days'  en- 
forced labor  in  each  year;  the  other,  by  the 
seizure  and  holding  of  benefices  to  the  almost  ut- 
ter exclusion  of  the  native  secular  priests.  Upon 
these  estates,  the  friars  were  autocrats,  and  their 
tenants  but  little  better  than  peons.  More  than 
that — we  have  the  word  of  the  historians  for 
it — the  papers  were  so  drawn  that  a  leaseholder 
had  no  security  of  tenure  whatever.  So  long  as 
he  was  a  good  son  of  the  Church,  paid  his  tithes, 
and  lived  in  subjection  to  his  religious  superiors, 
he  was  reasonably  safe.  But  woe  to  him  who 
made  a  show  of  independence. 

According  to  the  canon  law,  a  friar  may  not 
hold  a  benefice  so  long  as  there  is  a  secular 
priest  suitable  and  available.  The  represent- 
atives of  the  orders  at  the  Vatican  had  little 
difficulty  in  convincing  the  Church  authorities, 
that  the  native  priests  were  neither,  and  after 
that  their  path  was  smooth.  Placed  in  charge 
of  the  parishes,  and  with  bishops  and  archbish- 
ops favoring  them,  it  was  easy  for  them  to  pre- 
vent, or,  at  least  to  minimize  the  ordination  of 
natives. 

This  feeling  of  opposition  to  the  friars  is  very 


184      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ancient.  In  reading  the  history  of  former  Fil- 
ipino insurrections  and  local  outbreaks,  one  is 
struck  by  the  similarity  between  them  in  the  re- 
spect that  the  persons  of  the  friars  and  the 
churches  over  which  they  held  pastorates,  were 
always  the  first  to  suffer.  Those  who  read  the 
newspapers  during  the  progress  of  the  rebellion 
of  1896,  will  remember  that  the  cause  of  the 
Spaniards  was  always  described  as  the  Friars' 
War,  and  if  one  talks  to  any  old  '96  rebel,  he 
will  hear  tales  of  revenge  worked  on  friars  told 
with  gusto.  In  a  town  in  a  neighboring 
Province,  a  man  who  in  the  early  days  slew  an 
unpopular  friar,  was  lately  elected  Presidents 
He  was  not  only  in  the  wlar  with  the  United 
States,  but  was  actually  a  guide  against  the  Fil- 
ipinos, simply  because  he  had  lost  sympathy 
with  their  cause,  as  it  was  no  longer  directed 
against  the  friar. 

It  is  hoped  that  Governor  Taft's  visit  to  Rome 
will  have  lasting  results,  and  that  a  satisfactory 
conclusion  will  be  arrived  at  for  the  sale  of  the 
lands  owned  by  the  friars. 

Leaving  out  all  industrial  and  economic  fac- 
tors, therefore,  it  can  be  seen  readily  enough 
that  the  removal  of  the  friar  question  will  have 
a  most  pacifying  effect  on  Filipino  politics.  It 
it  doubtful,  however,  if  many  natives  will  take 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       185 

advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  purchase  homes, 
if  the  plan  be  decided  upon  to  sell  them  to  pres- 
ent tenants;  or  if  purchased,  to  work  out  pa- 
tiently and  successfully  the  deferred  payments. 
The  Filipino  is  capable  of  strenuous  efforts  for 
brief  periods,  but  like  the  natives  of  most  coun- 
tries lying  between  the  tropics,  where  it  is  easy 
to  obtain  the  few  simple  products  from  which 
come  his  food,  clothing  and  shelter,  he  is  apt 
to  spend  much  time  in  idleness,  or  worse,  when 
he  has  secured  sufficient  for  his  immediate  wants. 

If  the  purchased  land  be  opened  to  home- 
stead settlement  it  would  probably  be  quickly 
seized  and  fairly  well  cultivated.  But  whatever 
course  be  adopted,  nothing  but  good,  either  po- 
litically or  industrially,  can  come  of  the  acquisi  ■ 
tion  of  the  lands  of  the  friars,  which  will  be  ul- 
timately followed  by  their  exodus  from  the 
Archipelago,  and  the  substitution  for  them  of 
priests  educated  more  in  accordance  with  the  ten- 
dencies of  American  Catholicism. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary 
alarm  over  the  attitude  of  the  friars  towards 
the  Americans.  The  friars  may  make  mistakes 
in  their  methods,  but  they  are  essentially  a  body 
of  religious  men  who  have  become  accustomed 
to  having  a  large  amount  of  power,  not  only 
religious  but  secular.    It  is  natural,  therefore, 


186      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

that  they  do  not  at  once  willingly  acquiesce  in 
the  sudden  loss  of  all  their  authority,  and  there 
are  few  bodies  of  men  who  could  have  done  so 
as  completely  and  apparently  as  amiably  as  have 
the  friars.  There  have  been  all  sorts  of  ma- 
licious stories  told  with  regard  to  the  friars,  in 
some  cases  unfortunately  true,  but  in  many  in- 
stances absolutely;  false  or  grossly  misrepre- 
sented. In  the  main,  the  friars  may  be  classified 
as  a  body  of  Christian  workers,  who  have  been 
mainly  responsible  for  bringing  the  Filipinos  as 
a  race  to  Christianity. 

As  to  whether  the  Protestant  religion  in  the 
Philippines  can  do  much  in  the  way  of  proselyt- 
izing the  Filipinos,  is  a  matter  of  considerable 
doubt,  as  they  are  extremely  loyal  to  the  Catholic 
religion,  and  look  down  upon  people  who  worship 
in  any  other  way  as  heretics  and  unbelievers.  It 
is  a  question  which  only  time  will  decide. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Taft  Considers  Chief  Success  of  the  Commission  the 
Judicial  System. — He  Thinks  Pick  of  Filipino  Law- 
yers Secured  for  Bench. — The  Governor  Excuses 
the  Sedition  Law. — Thought  Necessary  to  Control 
American  Editors  in  Manila. — Taft's  Defense  of 
Law  Weak. — Power  of  the  Commission  and  Judges 
Dangerous  to  Liberty. — A  Military  Despotism  un- 
der Civil  Officials. — Filipinos  Detest  Foreigners. 
— Artists  in  Dissimulation. 

A  RECENT  article  in  a  magazine,  written  by 
Governor  Taft  during  the  time  he  was  at  home, 
contains  a  great  deal  of  material  for  thought. 

It  would  seem  from  his  statements  that  he 
considers  the  chief  success  thus  far  gained  by 
the  Commission  of  which  he  is  the  head,  to  be 
the  establishment  of  a  judiciary  system  in  the 
Islands.  He  maintains  that  the  principle  upon 
which  it  is  based  has  been  a  veritable  earnest  of 
the  capacity  of  the  Government. 

It  appointed  a  Supreme  Court,  to  which  dis- 
putes between  Americans  and  natives  could  be 


188      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

carried,  American  judges  holding  several  of  these 
important  positions,  while  in  the  Islands,  as  a 
whole,  the  Filipino  judges  have  been  so  scattered 
that  they  constitute  one-third  of  the  total  num- 
ber. "The  Commission,"  Governor  Taft  says, 
"has  certainly  secured  the  pick  of  Filipino  law- 
yers for  the  bench."  Upon  the  subject  of  the 
sedition  laws  which  have  aroused  so  much  feel- 
ing, both  in  the  Philippines  and  in  America,  as 
contrary  to  American  institutions,  Governor  Taft 
endeavors  to  throw  light.  He  says  it  was  nec- 
essary to  pass  the  bill  so  as  to  maintain  control 
over  the  American  editors  in  Manila,  who  were 
given  to  baiting  the  natives  and  thus  making 
the  insurrection  more  formidable.  He  goes  on 
to  say  that  the  editors  of  certain  Manila  news- 
papers have  the  bitterest  feeling  towards  the 
Filipinos,  and  entertain  the  view  that  legislation 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Filipinos,  or  the  appoint- 
ment of  them  to  offices  is  a  lack  of  loyalty  to 
the  Americans  who  have  come  to  settle  the  Is- 
lands. Governor  Taft  complains  that  these  edi- 
tors wrote  scurrilous  articles  impeaching  and  at- 
tacking Filipino  officials,  Filipino  judges  and  the 
Filipino  people,  as  a  basis  for  attacking  the  pol- 
icy of  the  Commission. 

Of  the  feeling  of  the  Filipinos  towards  the 
Americans,  Governor  Taft  declares  that  so  far 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      189 

as  the  civil  government  is  concerned,  no  feelings 
of  hatred  exist,  but  that  the  feeling  of  the  peo- 
ple towards  the  army  is  different,  varying  with 
the  attitude  of  the  commanding  officer  at  the 
neighboring  post.  Where  he  has  been  author- 
itative and  surly,  the  natives  do  not  like  the  army, 
but  where  he  has  been  kind  and  just,  an  oppo- 
site attitude  exists.  On  this  point,  General  Chaf- 
fee has  evidence  from  all  over  the  Philippines 
of  an  absolutely  contrary  state  of  affairs,  and 
letters  were  received  daily  from  the  Provinces, 
imploring  the  re-establishment  of  the  military 
and  the  expulsion  of  the  civil  authority. 

A  promise  of  independence  would  hinder  rather 
than  help  the  work  of  reconciliation  and  peace. 
Governor  Taft  turns  the  tables  on  President 
Schurman,  who  thought  that  the  Filipinos  would 
not  be  capable  of  independence  within  a  genera- 
tion, but  now  believes  they  will  be  trustworthy  in 
six  or  eight  years,  basing  the  change  of  opinion 
on  the  observations  of  General  Chaffee,  who  him- 
self holds  President  Schurman's  earlier  estimate. 
Governor  Taft  also  brings  out  with  singular 
clearness  the  by  no  means  new,  but  always  valid 
point,  that  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
liberty  and  independence.  A  country  may  be 
independent,  yet  subject  to  despotism,  or  it  may 
be  as  dependent  as  Canada  or  New  Zealand  and 


190      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

still  enjoy  the  largest  measure  of  individual  free- 
dom. He  asks,  in  case  independence  should  be 
granted,  by  what  inherent  right  America  is  to 
let  the  Christian  Filipinos  rule  over  the  Moros 
of  Mindanao,  and  the  hill  tribesmen,  who 
would  regard  such  authority  as  extremely  ob- 
noxious. 

To  a  certain  extent  Governor  Taft  is  right 
when  he  considers  the  establishment  of  a  ju- 
diciary system  as  the  chief  success  gained  by 
the  Commission,  and  probably  under  the  circum- 
stances, it  is  as  good  a  judiciary  as  could  have 
been  obtained.  If  there  had  been  any  way  of 
making  the  system  different,  to  prevent  the 
judges  from  being  appointed  by  the  Commission 
itself,  and  had  there  been  any  provision  what- 
ever for  trial  by  jury,  without  which  it  is  im- 
possible for  a  free  press  or  a  free  country  to 
exist,  the  situation  would  be  more  satisfactory. 

The  present  system  gives  to  the  Commission, 
through  the  judges,  absolute  power  over  life 
and  death  on  everybody  in  the  Philippines.  The 
author  does  not  mean  to  say  that  this  power  is 
at  all  likely  to  be  used,  but  the  possibility  that 
it  could  be  so  used  if  a  Commission  should  so 
desire  and  judges  could  be  obtained  subversive 
enough,  is  an  indictment  of  the  system. 

With  regard  to  Governor  Taft's  excuse  for  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      191 

treason  and  sedition  law,  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  in  his  power  absolutely  and  completely 
the  American  newspapers  of  Manila,  the  defense 
is  weak,  for  the  editors  and  numerous  other  res- 
idents of  Manila  are  perfectly  at  home  on  the 
situation  in  the  Philippines,  much  more  so  than 
it  is  possible  for  Governor  Taft  or  his  associates 
to  become,  as  they  know  but  one  side  of  the  sit- 
uation. 

Reports  come  to  the  Commission  from  all  over 
the  Archipelago,  from  every  governor,  glowing 
with  laudation  over  the  work  accomplished  by 
themselves  and  their  associates,  irrespective  of 
the  fact  that,  by  the  same  mail,  might  come  a 
letter  to  the  military  authorities,  giving  a  vastly 
diflferent  tale.  The  most  palpable  of  these,  prob- 
ably, is  the  report  of  Governor  Grant,  of  Leyte, 
which  has  been  alluded  to,  surpassing  as  it  does 
in  mendacious  misrepresentations  the  celebrated 
report  of  Major  Gardener,  relating  to  the  paci- 
fication of  Tayabas,  while  it  was  known  to  every 
American  and  Filipino  in  the  Province,  that  it 
was  a  veritable  hot-bed  of  insurrection. 

The  editors  of  Manila  are  men  of  no  mean 
experience,  and  are  thoroughly  capable  of  gaug- 
ing the  situation  for  themselves.  All  of  them 
favored  the  establishm'ent  of  the  civil  power, 
especially  in  Manila,  and  gave  the  Commission 


192      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

their  enthusiastic  support  until  the  time  came 
when  the  Commission  became  so  palpably  un- 
worthy of  it,  that  the  editors,  in  the  interests  of 
the  people  themselves,  had  to  tell  the  truth  and 
expose  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  affairs. 
The  "Times,"  the  "Freedom"  and  the  "Amer- 
ican," one  by  one,  were  forced  into  line  by  the 
march  of  circumstances.  The  editors  were  ac- 
cused by  the  Commission  of  being  anarchists, 
agitators,  and  what,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
the  members  of  the  Commission  seemed  to  think 
the  most  severe  term  possible  to  use  about  any- 
body, "acute  Americans." 

Unquestionably  the  people  have  scored  the  ap- 
pointment of  Filipinos  to  office  whose  hands  were 
scarcely  dry  from  the  blood  of  American  sol- 
diers, of  men  who  were  regarded  under  the  Span- 
ish regime,  not  only  as  insurrectos,  but  also  as 
criminals. 

The  people  have  complained  bitterly  and  with 
justice  that  every  law  passed  was  for  the  Fil- 
ipinos and  antagonistic  to  the  Americans,  not 
only  in  the  Philippines  but  at  home,  and  they 
have  maintained  that  an  American  was  worse 
off  in  the  Philippines  than  a  citizen  of  any  other 
power,  as  he  was  completely  at  the  mercy  of 
capricious  circumstances,  while  on  the  other  hand, 
citizens  of  other  powers  had  their  consuls  to 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       193 

appeal  to  in  event  of  injustice.  Governor  Taft 
and  his  associates  have  been  bitterly  antagonistic 
to  all  newspapers  and  almost  all  correspond- 
ents since  the  commencement  of  the  civil  regime. 
According  to  them,  not  one  has  ever  told  the 
truth,  whether  they  were  men  of  international 
repute  or  new  reporters.  Stephen  Bonsall's  ar- 
ticles on  the  Philippines  were  characterized  as 
false,  while,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  considering  the 
brevity  of  his  stay  in  the  Philippines,  Mr.  Bon- 
sall  obtained  a  marvelous  insight  into  the  ex- 
isting situation,  and  the  accuracy  of  the  major- 
ity of  his  statements  is  remarkable.  Most  of 
the  others  who  have  written  on  Philippine  con- 
ditions have  fallen  under  the  displeasure  of  the 
Civil  Commission. 

Governor  Taft's  view  of  the  feeling  of  the  Fil- 
ipinos towards  the  Americans  is,  of  course,  an 
individual  opinion.  A  Filipino  lawyer  of  Manila, 
to  whom  the  author  spoke  regarding  the  sub- 
ject, said: 

"How  can  you  expect  a  people  just  conquered, 
in  whom  the  love  of  freedom  burns  as  fiercely 
as  in  any  other  nation,  to  really  love  and  esteem 
their  conquerors  ?  We  had  a  right  to  expect  bet- 
ter treatment  from  the  nation  which  claims  to 
be  the  leader  in  the  cause  of  liberty.  How  can 
you  expect  us,  therefore,  to  have  any  real  feel- 


194      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ings  of  love  for  such  men?    Of  course,  we  are 

conquered.  My  people  have  the  art  of  dissimu- 
lating their  feelings,  and  this  is  what  fools  the 
Commission  every  time  they  take  one  of  their 
flying  trips  through  the  Provinces,  when  the 
bands  turn  out,  the  girls  dance,  banquets  are 
the  order  of  the  day,  and  enthusiastic  loyalty 
is  apparent  on  every  side.  Why,  my  dear  sir, 
do  you  think  that  such  things  were  not  done 
within  every  pueblo,  in  the  days  of  the  old  Span- 
ish Governor-Generals  ?  The  people  simply  wor- 
shipped them  when  they  went  around,  and  the 
reports  to  the  Governor  remind  me  very  much 
of  similar  reports  sent  by  the  Spanish.  If  my 
people  could  be  kept  from  insurrection  for,  say, 
a  generation,  and  at  the  same  time  given  a  sys- 
tem of  government  that  has  some  fundamental 
principles  of  freedom  in  it,  such  as  trial  by  jury 
and  the  right  to  vote  for  all  offices,  only  the  Gov- 
ernor himself  being  appointed  from  America, 
then  it  is  possible  that  the  Filipino  race  might 
become  reconciled  to  their  present  condition  as 
subjects  of  the  United  States." 

The  Filipino,  whatever  he  may  seem  to 
be  on  the  surface,  certainly  does  not  love  for- 
eigners. He  manages  to  control  his  feelings  and 
to  assume  an  air  of  loyalty  when  he  thinks  it 
judicious  so  to  do. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       195 

There  are  many  views  with  regard  to  the 
Philippines,  all  of  which  certainly  cannot  be 
right,  and  the  author  is  endeavoring  in  this  book 
to  give  the  views  of  the  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple he  has  come  in  contact  with  in  the  Philip- 
pines, rather  than  his  own  opinion,  which  he  will 
express  in  a  later  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Business  Outlook  in  the  Philippines. — Increase  in  Num- 
ber of  Banks. — Difficulties  Under  Which  Business 
Labors. — Only  Two  American  Firms  Before  Ameri- 
can Occupation. — Numbers  of  Firms  Successful. — 
A  Merchant  to  Represent  the  Mercantile  Interests 
of  the  Philippines  When  Congress  Meets. — Busi- 
ness Men  Desire  Representation  on  the  Commis- 
sion.— Price  of  Meat  and  Other  Foods. — Transporta- 
tion. 

The  growth  of  American  business  in  the  Phil- 
ippines since  1898,  has  not  been  anything  ap- 
proaching what  was  expected  of  it,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  business  that  has  gone  there, 
has  been  either  in  connection  with  the  army  and 
navy  or  to  supply  Americans.  On  the  real  trade 
of  the  country  as  it  existed  in  Spanish  times, 
American  business  has  made  very  little  impres- 
sion. 

Capital  has  held  aloof  from  the  Philippines, 
largely  owing  to  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  fu- 
ture, and  awaits  some  decided  action  of  Congress. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       197 

The  minor  capitalists  have  been  practically- 
blocked  out  by  the  action  of  the  Civil  Commis- 
sion. 

The  banking  business  of  the  Philippines  up 
to  September,  1901,  was  in  the  hands  of  two  Eng- 
lish and  one  Spanish  bank — the  Hong  Kong 
and  Shanghai  Banking  Corporation,  The  Chart- 
ered Bank  of  India,  China  and  Australia,  and 
the  Bank  of  Spain.  In  September,  1901,  the 
American  Bank  commenced  operations,  Major 
Charles  P.  Newberry  being  president,  and  Major 
H.  B.  Mulford,  cashier.  Both  of  these  gentle- 
men had  been  officers  of  volunteer  regiments,  and 
had  returned  to  the  Philippines  to  take  part  in 
what  is  called  "the  uplifting  of  the  Filipinos." 
The  bank  has  done  a  conservative  business  and 
is  doing  fairly  well.  Since  that  time,  three  other 
American  banks  have  started,  the  Guaranty 
Trust  Company,  of  New  York,  The  International 
Banking  Company  and  the  North  American  and 
Philippines  Loan  and  Trust  Company. 

Prior  to  the  occupation,  the  only  two  Amer- 
ican business  firms  doing  business  in  the  Phil- 
ippines, were  the  Standard  Oil  Company  and 
Messrs.  Henry  W.  Peabody  and  Company,  the 
latter  having  been  engaged  in  the  hemp  and  other 
business.  Despite  the  fact  that  capital  has  not 
poured  into  the  country  in  any  large  quantities, 


198      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

excepting  that  shipped  in  by  the  Government,  a 
number  of  persons  have  gone  into  all  sorts  of 
businesses  in  the  Philippines,  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  them  being  volunteer  officers  and  soldiers. 

The  apparent  antagonism  of  the  Commis- 
sion to  everything  in  the  Philippines  connected 
with  American  business,  compelled  these  men 
to  organize  an  American  Chamber  of  Commerce 
for  the  protection  of  their  own  interests,  believ- 
ing that  it  could  be  done  better  as  a  body  than 
by  individual  representation  to  the  Commission. 
Since  that  time,  if  American  business  has  had 
nothing  done  on  its  behalf,  it  has  received  slightly 
more  consideration  from  the  Commission.  It  is 
estimated  that,  independent  of  the  army,  there 
are  forty  thousand  Americans  in  the  Philippines, 
fifteen  thousand  of  whom  live  in  Manila,  so  that 
it  will  be  seen  that  from  this  number  alone,  in- 
dependent of  all  Filipinos  and  foreigners,  there 
was  room  for  a  number  of  small  businesses,  es- 
pecially taking  into  consideration  the  fact  that 
there  were  seventy  thousand  soldiers  at  one  time, 
volunteers  and  regulars. 

Two  or  three  firms  in  the  general  supply  busi- 
ness have  done  a  large  amount  of  business,  nota- 
bly the  American  Commercial  Company.  The 
Pacific  and  Oriental  Trading  Company  and  the 
North     American     Trading     Company.     These 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       199 

three  firms  have  agencies  in  every  place  of  size 
throughout  the  Archipelago,  and  are  even  en- 
croaching on  the  trade  formerly  held  by  Span- 
ish, English  and  German  houses. 

Besides  the  two  firms  already  mentioned  as 
being  in  existence  when  the  American  occupa- 
tion took  place  and  the  three  just  mentioned, 
the  principal  business  houses  established  have 
been  the  Philippine  Lumber  and  Development 
Company,  The  Philippine  Transportation  and 
Construction  Company,  Castle  Brothers,  Wolf 
and  Son,  E.  C.  McCullough,  Cameron  and 
McLoughlin,  and  Macondray  and  Company.  All 
these  firms  are  doing  a  successful  business  in  the 
Philippines,  very  successful  in  fact,  considering 
the  way  in  which  they  are  handicapped. 

Efforts  to  establish  a  brewery  failed,  as  the 
San  Miguel  Brewery  has  a  concession  which  still 
has  a  number  of  years  to  run.  The  beer  they 
make  is  of  a  poor  quality  and  the  consequence 
is  that  imported  beer  is  mostly  drunk.  There  has 
been  some  talk  on  the  part  of  American  capital- 
ists of  establishing  a  brewery  in  Hong  Kong,  and 
shipping  the  beer  over  in  bulk  to  Manila,  which 
is  only  two  days'  journey  away,  but  nothing 
has  come  of  the  proposition  thus  far.  There 
were  several  efforts  made  to  obtain  rapid  tran- 


200      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

sit  in  a  street  car  line,  but  they  still  run  with 
the  diminutive  Filipino  ponies. 

The  hotels  have  all  become  Americanized  and 
are  under  American  control  and  management, 
the  Oriente,  which  was  the  old  Spanish  hotel, 
being  the  principal  one.  It  is  full  the  greater 
part  of  the  time,  and  does  a  big  business.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  English  hotel,  on  the 
Escolta,  and  the  Luneta  Grand  hotel,  both  of 
which  are  under  American  management. 

The  newspapers  have  already  been  alluded  to 
in  a  previous  chapter.  All  of  those  printed  in 
English  are  now  owned  by  Americans,  the  dailies 
being  the  "Times,"  "American/'  "Freedom"  and 
"Bulletin,"  and  the  weeklies,  the  "Critic,"  and  the 
"Volcano."  All  of  them,  judging  by  their 
advertising  columns,  seem  to  be  doing  well. 

The  public  holidays  appointed  by  the  Com- 
mission, are  New  Year's  Day,  Washington's 
Birthday,  the  Fourth  of  July,  Thanksgiving  Day, 
Christmas  Day  and  Rizal  Day.  Other  public 
holidays  generally  kept  besides  those  appointed 
by  the  Commission,  are:  February  2nd,  Purifi- 
cation ;  Good  Friday ;  May  8th,  Ascension ;  May 
29th,  Corpus  Christi;  Decoration  Day;  August 
15th,  Assumption;  Labor  Day;  November  ist, 
All  Saints'  Day ;  November  30th,  Saint  Andrew's. 

For  the  benefit  of  the  Filipino  himself,  every 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      201 

effort  should  be  made  by  the  Commission  to  urge 
capitalists  to  commence  operations  in  the  Phil- 
ippines. The  Filipinos  who  have  money  prefer 
living  on  their  incomes,  rather  than  investing 
in  any  business  that  will  give  employment  to  the 
natives,  and  yet  there  are  great  business  oppor- 
tunities in  the  Philippines.  The  soil  is  fertile, 
and  experiments  by  agriculturists  prove  that  al- 
most every  form  of  agriculture  may  be  under- 
taken with  the  most  gratifying  results.  More 
than  seven-tenths  of  the  soil  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  has  never  been  under  cultivation.  The 
greater  part  of  it  could  produce  hemp,  sugar, 
indigo,  corn,  tobacco,  coffee,  cotton,  bananas,  or- 
anges, cocoanuts,  mangoes,  pineapples,  mango- 
stines,  tomatoes,  etc.  Some  of  the  most  valuable 
wood  in  the  world  is  obtained  in  the  Philip- 
pines and  there  are  large  quantities  of  it.  The 
most  valuable  varieties  are  probably  the  rubber 
tree,  ebony,  sandal,  camphor  and  teak.  Sulphur 
has  been  found  in  Leyte,  gold  and  copper  in 
Luzon,  petroleum  and  coal  in  Iloilo  and  Cebu. 

There  are  five  theatres  in  Manila,  two  of  which 
are  attended  by  Americans  and  foreigners,  and 
the  other  three  by  Spaniards  and  Filipinos.  The 
National  Opera  House  and  the  Zorrilla  Grand 
are  the  two  American  and  European,  while  the 
Teatro  Libertad,  Teatro  Filipino  and  Teatro  Paz 


202      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

are  attended  by  the  Spaniards  and  Filipinos.  The 
traveling  shows  that  occasionally  put  into  Manila, 
have  not  been  of  a  very  high  order,  except- 
ing in  very  rare  cases,  the  Philippines  being 
rather  out  of  the  way  of  the  regular  theatrical 
line  of  travel.  The  best  thus  far  have  been 
some  companies  returning  from  Australia  to  the 
United  States. 

There  are  four  Chambers  of  Commerce  in 
Manila,  the  American,  English,  Spanish  and  Chi- 
nese, and  occasionally  they  meet  together  and 
act  for  the  general  benefit  and  welfare  of  the 
business  interests  in  the  Philippines.  It  is  prob- 
able that  some  business  man  will  be  appointed 
at  the  next  session  of  Congress  by  the  combined 
Chambers,  to  represent  their  interests  in  Wash- 
ington, as  it  is  feared  that  all  the  business  in- 
terests in  the  Philippines  were  completely  sac- 
rificed at  the  last  session,  through  the  political 
ambitions  of  a  certain  gentleman  who  went  to 
Washington  pledged  to  act  in  behalf  of  these 
interests,  instead  of  which  his  every  action 
seemed  to  be  antagonistic  thereto.  A  man  who 
has  been  prominently  mentioned  is  Mr,  W.  L. 
Brown,  the  manager  of  the  American  Commer- 
cial Company,  one  of  the  most  popular  business 
men  in  the  Philippines,  who  has  been  there  since 
the  early  days  of  the  occupation.  He  has  worked 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      203 

up  an  immense  business  and  is  better  known  as 
Mayor  Brown.  His  liberality  and  hospitality  are 
known  to  everybody  in  Manila,  and  there  is  lit- 
tle doubt  that  he  would  be  a  good  representative 
of  the  business  men  of  Manila  in  Washington, 
and  would  look  after  their  interests  well.  An- 
other gentleman  who  has  been  prominent,  is  Cap- 
tain F.  E.  Green,  the  President  of  the  Philip- 
pines Lumber  and  Development  Company,  who 
is  a  former  officer  of  a  volunteer  regiment,  and 
is  also  the  President  of  the  American  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  as  well  as  connected  with  other 
business  interests  in  the  Philippines,  so  that  it 
is  doubtful  if  he  could  get  away  for  a  long 
enough  time  to  attend  a  whole  session  of  Con- 
gress. Mr.  H.  T.  Hilbert,  the  manager  of  the 
Pacific  and  Oriental  Trading  Company,  has  also 
been  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  representa- 
tion. Any  of  these  three  men  or  several  others 
that  have  not  been  mentioned,  no  doubt,  could 
be  of  great  use  in  Washington,  giving  informa- 
tion, of  which  Congress  seems  absolutely  igno- 
rant. Its  members  certainly  were  not  enlightened 
by  anything  that  was  told  them  by  anybody  who 
appeared  before  the  Committee  at  the  last  session 
of  Congress. 

The  merchants  of  Manila  believe  that  business 
should  be  represented  on  the  Commission,  which 


204      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

at  present  contains  only  lawyers  and  education- 
alists, and  an  effort  will  be  made  to  get  the 
President  to  appoint  either  somebody  in  business 
in  the  Philippines,  or  else  some  man  of  unques- 
tionable business  ability  in  the  United  States,  to 
represent  the  business  interests  on  the  Commis- 
sion. 

The  means  of  transportation  in  the  Philippines, 
particularly  in  Manila,  are  varied,  the  caribao 
cart  being  the  most  prominent  in  the  transporta- 
tion of  goods  not  connected  with  the  Government. 
The  caribao  is  an  animal  the  size  of  a  big  ox, 
with  long  horns.  It  requires  a  tremendous 
amount  of  water,  which  is  absorbed  through  the 
pores  of  the  skin,  the  caribao  sleeping  in  the 
water  at  night.  He  goes  at  a  very  slow  rate 
of  speed,  but  lack  of  water  will  make  him  crazy 
and  start  him  "running  amuck,"  and  when  a 
caribao  runs  amuck,  it  is  a  good  time  to  get  out 
of  the  way,  for  there  is  going  to  be  a  consider- 
able amount  of  damage  done  before  he  is  shot  or 
brought  under  control. 

There  is  probably  no  place  of  its  size  in  the 
world,  where  so  many  people  own  their 
private  conveyances,  with  one  or  more  ponies. 
Most  of  the  residents  own  two.  The  carriages 
are  of  various  types  and  descriptions,  generally 
lightly  made,  so  that  they  can  easily  be  pulled 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      205 

by  the  diminutive  Filipino  ponies.  The  two  prin- 
cipal pony  rigs  are  the  carometta  and  the  calesin, 
which  are  also  the  two  types  most  used  for  hire 
on  the  streets.  There  are  many  hundreds  of 
them,  but  yet  one  often  walks  the  whole  of  the 
distance  he  may  be  going  without  being  able 
to  obtain  one.  An  old  Spanish  custom,  which, 
for  a  considerable  time,  was  kept  up  by  the 
Americans,  was  that  the  carriages  used  by  the 
Government  officials  which  were  the  property 
of  the  Government,  were  painted  yellow.  These 
carriages  had  the  right  of  way  and  could  go 
over  bridges  where  toll  was  levied  without  pay- 
ing, but  they  have  now  become  things  of  the 
past.  There  are  about  eight  or  ten  automobiles 
in  use,  one  being  the  property  of  Commissioner 
Worcester,  who  is  an  enthusiastic  automobilist. 
Several  hundred  bicycles  also  form  a  portion  of 
the  transportation  facilities  of  the  Philippines, 
but  the  good  old  army  mule  still  holds  its  own, 
and  is  seen  in  twos  and  fours,  dragging  heavy 
loads  from  daylight  to  dark. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

Social  Life  in  the  Philippines. — The  Clubs  of  Manila. 
— Captain  Ramsey's  Success  With  the  Army  and 
Navy  Club. — Taft  President  of  University. — Im- 
mense Growth  of  American  Club  in  One  Year. — To 
Build  Magnificent  Quarters. — Private  Entertaining 
on  a  Large  Scale. — Chaffee  Most  Popular  Man  in 
the  Philippines. — "The  Brains  of  the  Commission." 
— Dinner  Organizations. — Naval  Entertaining. — 
Women  in  the  Tropics. — Launch  Parties. 

The  best  part  of  the  day  in  the  Philippines  is 
that  devoted  to  social  life,  which,  as  in  all  trop- 
ical countries,  is  generally  made  enjoyable,  and 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  get  off  the  street  and  out  of 
the  office  into  some  of  the  clubs,  with  a  cooling 
lemonade  or  other  means  of  refreshment,  and 
to  get  under  the  punkah  or  into  the  radius  of 
the  electric  fan.  There  are  several  clubs  in  Ma- 
nila, to  suit  all  classes  and  all  purses,  and  life 
within  their  walls  is  made  pleasant  for  the  mem- 
bers. 

First  in  goint  of  age  comes  the  Manila  Club, 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       207 

that  is,  of  English  speaking  clubs,  as  there  is 
a  Spanish  club,  which  is  of  older  date.  The 
Manila  Club  is  best  known  in  Manila  as  the 
English  Club,  the  majority  of  the  members  be- 
ing of  that  nationality,  although  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  Germans  and  other  foreigners,  and, 
since  the  American  occupation,  several  Amer- 
icans. It  has  a  fine  house  in  Ermita, 
one  of  the  suburbs  of  Manila,  and  in  addition, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  members,  has  a  tiffin  club 
downtown,  where  members  can  drop  in  and  see 
the  papers  and  take  their  lunch.  The  club  also 
has  a  library,  which  is  a  first-class  one,  and  is 
kept  at  the  tiffin  club.  All  business  closes  in 
Manila  between  twelve  and  two,  and  after  lunch 
one  may  see  rows  of  members  sitting  under  the 
punkahs  with  their  legs  extended  on  the  lc«ig 
easy-chairs,  indulging  in  the  tropical  forty 
winks  known  as  the  siesta.  Old  residents  of 
the  tropics  will  all  tell  one  that  the  man  who 
takes  his  siesta  regularly  every  day,  will  stand 
tropical  life  twice  as  long  as  the  man  who  does 
not. 

One  of  the  first  clubs  established  after  the 
American  regime  was  the  Army  and  Navy  Club, 
which  has  moved  twice  before  entering  its  pres- 
ent commodious  quarters.  This  club  has  been, 
especially    within    the    past    fourteen    or    fif- 


208       As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

teen  months,  the  centre  of  social  life  of 
Manila,  and  the  fortnightly  ladies'  dinners 
have  saved  many  a  hostess  from  annoy- 
ance and  worry  as  to  how  she  could  best 
entertain,  as  the  majority  of  the  members  who 
are  married  do  their  entertaining  at  the  club  on 
those  nights,  when  from  seventy  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  people  are  entertained  at  din- 
ner, and  twice  that  number  probably  arrive  af- 
terwards to  attend  the  military  concert  that  is 
generally  provided.  The  club  has  never  been 
a  failure,  but  its  present  successful  existence,  is 
due  mainly  to  the  untiring  energy  of  Captain  F. 
De  W.  Ramsey,  who  has  a  knack  of  organiza- 
tion and  a  wonderful  ability  in  carrying  out  his 
ideas,  in  addition  to  which  he  is  popular,  pleas- 
ant to  deal  with,  warm-hearted  and  open-handed. 
Captain  Ramsey  has  made  the  Army  and  Navy 
Club  one  of  the  most  successful  and  prosper- 
ous organizations  in  the  Philippines,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  his  successor,  whoever  he  may 
be,  will  carry  on  the  club  on  the  lines  laid  down 
by  Captain  Ramsey,  who  is  unfortunately  obliged 
to  leave,  his  official  duties  requiring  him  to  go 
to  the  United  States  with  General  Chaffee,  one 
of  whose  aides  he  is.  General  Chaffee  having 
become  acquainted  with  his  value  when  in  China, 
where  he  was  an  officer  of  the  Ninth  U.  S.  In- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      209 

fantry.  The  president  of  the  club  is  generally  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  division. 

The  next  club  to  appear  on  the  horizon  of 
Manila's  social  life  was  the  University  Club, 
which  has  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  members. 
The  idea  of  its  formation  was  that  there  should 
be  a  distinctively  civil  club  under  American  man- 
agement, as  distinct  from  the  Army  and  Navy, 
several  preferring  to  have  a  club  of  their  own  in- 
stead of  joining  the  already  established  Manila 
Club.  Accordingly,  a  few  gentlemen  got  to- 
gether and  established  the  University  Club, 
Governor  Taft  being  the  President,  Com- 
missioner Wright  and  Doctor  Atkinson  the  Vice- 
Presidents.  The  club  has  moved  from  its  first 
location  to  larger  quarters  facing  the  Luneta,  on 
the  Ermita  side.  This  enables  members  to  lis- 
ten to  the  evening  music  of  the  military  band  that 
plays  there,  and  twice  a  week  the  members  are 
allowed  to  bring  ladies  to  afternoon  tea,  where 
they  enjoy  sitting  in  the  long  front  room,  and 
looking  on  at  the  life  outside.  In  the  winter, 
when  the  band  does  not  play  in  the  club  house, 
a  musical  tea,  which  is  always  well  attended,  is 
held  on  alternate  Mondays. 

A  little  over  a  year  ago,  there  came  into  exist- 
ence a  club  that  has  since  proved  to  be  an  im- 
mense success.     It  was  felt  that  Americans  in 


210      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

the  Philippines  should  band  themselves  together 
for  some  definite  purpose,  and  the  result  was 
the  formation  of  the  American  Club,  which  has 
had  a  marvelously  successful  career,  its  pres- 
ent membership  being  in  the  neighborhood  of  a 
thousand.  The  object  of  the  club  has  been  kept 
to  the  front,  and  social  qualifications  cut  no  fig- 
ure in  election  to  membership.  All  that  is  nec- 
essary is  that  a  man  be  an  American,  that  he  be 
a  man  of  good  character  and  average  intelligence. 
This  democratic  feeling  is  shown  in  everything 
connected  with  the  club,  and  the  members  are 
loyal  to  the  institution.  The  President  is  Major 
Liddell,  who  is  one  of  the  city  magistrates  of 
Manila.  On  all  American  holidays  the  club  gives 
receptions  with  some  sort  of  appropriate  exer- 
cises, which  are  attended  by  the  civil  and  mili- 
tary governors  and  prominent  speakers.  Eventu- 
ally the  club  unquestionably  will  become  the  focus 
of  all  American  politics  in  the  Philippines,  and 
its  membership,  probably  within  the  next  few 
months,  will  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  two  thou- 
sand. The  members  contemplate  building  a  club 
house  facing  the  sea,  with  a  swimming  pool, 
gymnasium,  library,  and  all  other  modem  conven- 
iences, at  a  cost  of  something  like  a  million  dol- 
lars, the  funds  for  which  they  are  now  endeav- 
oring to  obtain.    There  are  numerous  other  clubs 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      211 

in  Manila,  such  as  the  French  Club,  the  German 
Club,  the  Caledonian  Club  and  the  Press  Club, 
as  well  as  athletic  clubs  and  associations. 
Of  course  baseball  has  established  itself  in 
the  Philippines  in  the  last  four  years,  and  is 
there  to  stay,  there  being  several  clubs  of  that 
nature,  so  that  a  league  has  been  formed.  If 
the  games  do  not  come  up  to  the  standard  of 
one  of  the  American  league  games,  at  all  events 
the  enjoyment  of  those  attending  them  is  just 
as  keen  and  probably  more  so. 

Of  course,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  entertain- 
ing in  Manila  by  those  who  can  afford  it,  and  it 
is  the  one  phase  of  life  where  the  civil  and  mili- 
tary authorities  have  always  got  on  well  together. 
Governor  and  Mrs.  Taft  do  much  entertaining,  as 
do  Acting  Governor  and  Mrs.  Wright,  the  lat- 
ter of  whom  is  a  noted  hostess  and  just  the  lady 
for  the  position  she  has  to  occupy  as  the  leader 
of  social  life  in  Manila.  General  and  Mrs.  Chaf- 
fee also  have  entertained  largely,  and  their  rep- 
utation as  host  and  hostess  had  preceded  them 
from  Cuba,  where  the  General  was  Chief  of 
Staff  to  the  Governor-General,  before  he  went  to 
China. 

To  mention  the  social  life  of  Manila  or  even 
to  write  a  book  on  the  Philippines  would  be  in- 
complete without  mentioning  the  name  of  the 


212      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Honorable  A.  W.  Fergusson,  the  Executive  Sec- 
retary of  the  Commission,  who  is  better  known 
in  Manila  as  "the  brains  of  the  Commission." 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fergusson  have  a  beautiful  house, 
and  they  entertain  lavishly,  giving  dinners, 
dances,  fancy  dress  balls  and  children's  parties, 
and  Mrs.  Fergusson  is  never  so  much  at  home 
as  when  making  others  happy.  Mr.  Fergusson 
himself  is  a  man  of  considerable  ability,  speak- 
ing Spanish  with  a  fluency  not  excelled  by  any 
Spanish-speaking  resident  of  Manila,  and  his  ap- 
pointment as  a  member  of  the  Commission  in- 
stead of  its  executive  secretary  would  have  been 
commendable.  In  fact,  the  hope  is  generally  ex- 
pressed that  he  will  obtain  the  first  vacancy.  He 
was  formerly  in  the  Bureau  of  South  American 
Republics  in  Washington. 

Dinner  organizations  have  been  established  in 
Manila,  the  most  prominent  one  being  that  of 
the  Monks  of  the  Red  Robe,  which  was  origi- 
nally established  in  Cuba,  but  a  branch  of  which 
came  into  existence  in  China  and  then  followed 
on  to  the  Philippines.  The  dinners  of  the  monks 
have  invariably  been  pleasant  social  affairs,  the 
number  being  limited  absolutely  to  forty.  No 
governor,  bishop  or  general  is  eligible  to  hold 
office  in  the  organization,  though  they  all  become 
members,  and  they  are  taught  at  the  dinner  table 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      213 

that  there  are  occasions  when  the  first  is  last 
and  the  last  is  first.  Probably  the  most  success- 
ful of  all  such  organizations  has  been  the  Beef- 
steak Club,  which  is  limited  to  twenty,  all  of 
whom  either  have  to  sing  a  song,  tell  a  story, 
or  do  something  for  the  benefit  of  the  rest  when 
dinner  is  concluded.  The  menu  of  the  Beefsteak 
Club  is  not  elaborate  and  consists  invariably  of 
the  same  dishes.  Solids — beefsteak,  vegetables, 
potatoes,  apple  pie  and  cheese,  welsh  rarebit.  Li- 
quids— ale,  stout,  porter,  beer,  w'hisky  and  soda. 
There  are  no  French  dishes  or  French  wines, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  the  members  always  enjoyed 
themselves  at  these  gatherings.  Colonel  Wood- 
ruff, a  noted  orator  in  the  Philippines,  was  Chief 
Trencherman,  Captain  Ramsey,  Carver,  and  the 
author.  Junior  Trencherman.  On  nights  such  as 
this,  men  relaxed  themselves  from  the  ordinary 
primness  and  went  in  as  boys  do,  for  a  good  time 
and  plenty  of  enjoyment  without  overstepping  the 
bounds  of  propriety.  General  Chaffee,  on  such 
occasions,  was  always  at  his  best,  and  one  could 
be  certain  of  getting  a  good  story  from  the  "old 
man."  It  is  a  fact  without  contradiction,  that 
General  Chaffee  is  the  most  popular  American 
ever  in  the  Philippines.  His  personality,  while 
grim  on  the  exterior,  is  kindly  and  happy,  and 


214      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

those  who  begin  his  acquaintance  by  disliking 
him  become  his  warmest  admirers. 

A  very  large  number  of  American  ladies  whose 
husbands  or  fathers  are  connected  with  the  army 
and  navy,  or  with  the  civil  rule,  are  at  present 
in  the  Philippines,  and  their  number  will  increase 
considerably  during  the  winter,  many  going  out 
to  join  their  husbands  for  that  season.  Naturally, 
to  them  is  largely  due  the  attractions  of  social 
life  in  Manila.  A  white  woman  remaining  in 
the  Philippines  for  more  than  two  years,  suffers 
a  great  loss  of  vitality,  to  recover  which  will 
require  many  years,  although  she  may  not  realize 
it  at  the  time.  European  doctors  who  have  lived 
in  the  Philippines  for  a  number  of  years,  all  tell 
the  same  tale,  that,  if  possible,  no  woman  should 
stay  there  over  a  year  without  taking  six  months 
in  a  colder  clime,  and  no  man  over  three  years, 
though  the  European  business  houses  make  five 
years  their  term  of  service,  before  giving  any 
lengthy  leave  of  absence. 

The  navy  is  a  considerable  figure  in  the  social 
life  of  Manila,  and  the  entertainments  held  on 
the  various  flagships  when  they  are  in  Cavite,  are 
enjoyable  occasions,  all  the  big  ships  that  have 
been  there  having  apparently  vied  with  one  an- 
other to  do  all  that  they  could  in  a  social  way 
to  make  life  in  the  tropics  pleasant.    Admirals 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      215 

Remey,  Rodgers  and  Wilde  and  the  officers  under 
their  command,  one  and  all,  have  added  consider- 
ably to  the  gayety  of  Manila  during  the  time 
that  they  have  been  there.  The  big  commercial 
steamships  that  come  into  Manila  frequently  give 
balls  and  receptions  on  board  and  these  have  al- 
ways been  popular.  This  was  an  old  custom 
in  Spanish  times,  and  is  still  kept  up,  many  of 
the  skippers  laying  in  supplies  especially  for  these 
occasions  before  they  leave  the  home  port  en  route 
for  Manila. 

Another  favorite  form  of  entertainment  in 
Manila  is  the  launch  party,  where  the  guests 
go  either  in  launches  or  in  boats  towed  b}^ 
launches,  up  the  river  to  some  place  where  a 
dance  has  been  arranged,  after  which  they  re- 
turn in  the  launches  to  Manila,  where  the  car- 
riages are  waiting  to  drive  them  to  their  respect- 
ive homes. 

In  the  American  and  European  life  of  Manila, 
the  Filipino  is  a  small  quantity,  and  there  is 
scarcely  any  social  communication  between  the 
two  races.  Of  course,  the  Governor  and  the 
Commissioners  and  high  officials  of  the  Govern- 
ment, both  civil  and  military,  attend  dinners, 
musicals,  and  similar  affairs,  at  the  houses  of 
the  most  prominent  Filipinos  connected  with  the 


216      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Government,  and  there  all  social  communication 
may  be  said  to  cease,  with  the  exception  of  a  ball 
or  something  of  that  nature  given  by  the  Partido 
Federal  or  some  other  prominent  organization. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Who  Are  the  Filipinos? — Like  the  Natives  of  Java. — 
Have  Some  of  the  Facial  Characteristics  of  the 
Japanese. — Not  Cowards  in  Action. — Treacherous. 
— Wanting  in  Gratitude. —  Untrustworthy.  —  Igno- 
rant.—  Vicious. —  Immoral. —  Lazy. — Ingenious  but 
Tricky. — Partido  Federal  Really  Dominates  Race. — 
Alexandrino,  Appointed  by  Commission  with  Blood 
of  Americans  Wet  on  His  Hands. — Katipunan  So- 
ciety.— Possible  Solution  of  the  Illness  of  Taft  and 
Funston. 

Who  and  what  are  the  Filipinos,  what  are 
their  characteristics,  which  of  the  many  different 
descriptions  that  have  been  given  of  them  is  ac- 
curate, will  be  moot  points  in  the  minds  of  many- 
people  who  will  believe  nothing  of  the  subject 
until  they  have  had  opportunity  to  judge  for 
themselves. 

Probably  the  best  description  that  can  be  ob- 
tained, would  be  from  members  of  the  American 
Club,  many  of  whom  have  been  soldiers,  but 
are  now  in  civil  life,  and  who  have  seen  the  Fil- 


218      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ipinos  in  their  every  phase.  The  original  race 
itself  is  of  Malay  origin  and  more  like  the  natives 
of  Java  than  of  any  other  country.  In  some 
other  respects,  in  appearance  rather  than  in  char- 
acter, they  are  like  the  Japanese,  though  that 
race  is  a  much  more  hardy  one,  as  is  natural 
in  their  splendid  climate. 

A  great  many  persons  say  that  the  Filipinos 
are  cowardly,  but  according  to  the  testimony  of 
the  soldiers,  they  are  not.  Men  who  have  seen 
service  say  that  when  they  have  met  the  Filipinos 
in  a  body,  face  to  face,  the  latter  have  fought 
bravely  and  well,  and  many  Filipinos  have  shown 
such  individual  courage  on  the  field  of  battle  that, 
had  they  been  Americans  and  acted  similarly, 
they  would  doubtless  have  earned  the  Congres- 
sional medal  of  honor.  In  this  sense,  the  author 
is  impressed  from  all  the  testimony  he  has  re- 
ceived, with  the  fact  that  the  Filipino  is  anything 
but  a  coward,  but  at  the  same  time,  he  is  cowardly 
in  that  he  prefers  stabbing  a  man  in  the  back 
or  shooting  him  from  behind,  when  possible, 
rather  than  fighting  him  face  to  face.  All  his- 
tory has  shown  that  the  Malays  are  treacherous, 
cruel  and  brutal,  and  the  Filipino  is  no  excep- 
tion to  this  rule.  The  Commission  says,  and  it 
has  been  alluded  to  by  Congress,  that  the  Filipino 
is  refined,  cultivated  and  honorable,  but  govern- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      219 

mental  authorities  in  the  United  States,  includ- 
ing the  President,  allude  to  the  inhuman  manner 
in  which  warfare  has  been  conducted  in  the  Phil- 
ippines against  the  Americans,  and  it  was  given 
as  an  excuse  for  occasional  outrages  by  Amer- 
ican soldiers,  that  the  fighting  of  the  Filipinos 
was  barbarous  and  that  of  semi-civilized  savages. 

It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  the  two  descriptions. 
The  Filipinos  as  a  race  on  occasions  are  refined 
and  cultivated,  and  also  as  a  race,  on  other  occa- 
sions they  are  savages,  or,  if  it  be  preferred,  semi- 
civilized  savages,  and  in  the  latter  definition  one 
will  probably  get  the  vote  of  a  large  majority 
of  the  Americans  who  have  been  or  are  now  in 
the  Philippines. 

Treachery  and  dissimulation  are  as  character- 
istic of  the  Filipino's  nature,  as  black  hair  and 
eyes  are  of  their  physical  appearance. 

The  highly  intelligent,  educated,  high-class,  so- 
called  Filipino,  who  has  but  a  very  small  pro- 
portion of  the  Filipino  blood  in  his  make-up, 
and  is  at  least  seven-tenths  Spanish,  is  Span- 
ish in  his  characteristics,  in  his  ways  of  thought 
and  in  his  action.  A  Spaniard,  for  instance, 
marries  a  mestizo  or  half  caste,  and  by  her  has 
a  daughter,  who  marries  another  Spaniard.  The 
children  of  this  marriage  are  educated  in  Spain, 
Paris,  Berlin^  London,  or  some  other  European 


220    As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

capital,  and  there  are  many  hundreds  of  such 
men  in  the  PhiHppines,  and  though,  in  one  sense 
they  certainly  are  Filipinos,  in  that  they  have 
been  bom  in  the  Philippines,  they  are  not  to  be 
compared  with  the  pure-blood  Filipinos  any  more 
than  is  the  white  man  of  the  United  States  to 
be  compared  with  the  blanketed  red  Indian. 

Those  whom  the  Commission  has  appointed  to 
the  majority  of  the  highest  offices,  are  these  edu- 
cated Filipinos,  and  on  them  the  Commission 
bases  its  judgment  of  the  race.  These  men  are 
refined  and  cultivated,  well  educated  and  gentle- 
manly in  behavior,  but  they  form  a  very  small 
proportion  to  the  millions  occupying  the  Phil- 
ippines, and  the  majority  of  full-blooded  Fil- 
ipinos scarcely  recognize  them  as  being  Filipinos. 
Another  element  largely  mixed  with  the  Filipi- 
nos is  that  of  the  Chinese.  Probably  one-twentieth 
of  the  population  has  some  Chinese  blood  in  its 
veins,  and  the  mixture  is  not  a  pleasant  spec- 
tacle, it  seemingly  having  combined  the  vices 
of  both  races  without  any  of  the  corresponding 
virtues,  and  some  of  the  most  brutal  atrocities 
perpetrated  on  American  soldiers  or  American- 
istas  have  been  by  these  Chinese  mestizos. 

"Our  little  brown  brother,"  the  Filipino  pure 
and  simple,  whom  we  all  are  so  anxious  to  up- 
lift to  his  proper  plane  upon  earth  and  relieve 


E.  F.  O'BRIEN. 
Editor  of  "  Freedom."    Convicted  of  treason  and  sedition. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      221 

from  the  burden  cast  upon  him  by  heredity  and 
a  few  hundred  years  of  Spanish  dominion,  is 
without  doubt  unreliable,  untrustworthy,  igno- 
rant, vicious,  immoral  and  lazy.  In  many  ways 
he  is  patient  and  ingenious  over  small  things,  and 
he  will  work  for  weeks  making  a  single  straw 
hat,  which,  when  it  is  turned  out,  is  almost  the 
equal  of  the  finest  Panama  that  is  made ;  but  he  is 
tricky,  and,  as  a  race,  more  dishonest  than  any 
known  race  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  Hindoo  has  a  reputation  for  dishonesty 
and  sharp  practice  in  the  general  dealings  of  life, 
but  the  Hindoo  is  to  the  Filipino  in  this  respect 
as  is  white  to  black.  The  Filipino  race,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Moros,  may  be  said  to  be  con- 
trolled by  a  comparatively  small  number  of  per- 
sons— a  sort  of  unofficial  Parliament,  which  has 
always  existed  under  some  name  or  other,  and 
occasionally  under  no  name  at  all.  At  present  it 
is  called  the  Partido  Federal,  which  was  founded, 
if  not  at  the  request,  certainly  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  military  authorities  who  at  that  time 
were  governing  the  Philippines.  The  object  was 
to  get  together  the  most  prominent  men  in  the 
Philippines,  and  either  by  giving  them  govern- 
ment positions  or  in  some  way  obtaining  for 
them  what  they  desired,  to  make  friends  of  them 


222      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

and  thereby  finish  the  guerilla  warfare  that  was 
then  existing. 

The  idea  resulted  in  perfect  success.  One 
after  another,  as  the  big  men  surrendered 
or  came  in  the  Partido  Federal  took  the 
credit  for  it,  and  probably  justly  so.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Partido  Federal  belong  to  the  edu- 
cated class  before  alluded  to,  or  to  the  wealthy 
among  the  pure  blooded  Filipinos,  who  are  also 
educated.  They  knew  perfectly  well  that  fur- 
ther fighting  was  futile ;  they  preferred,  as  much 
as  possible,  to  get  the  credit  for  bringing  in 
those  still  out  in  the  field,  and  they  undoubtedly 
used  their  best  efforts  to  that  end ;  but  to  this 
day  the  military  authorities,  through  their  secret 
service,  keep  as  close  supervision  as  possible  over 
the  doings  of  the  various  members  of  the  Partido 
Federal. 

The  Civil  Commission  received  the  Partido 
Federal  with  open  arms,  and  to  a  large  extent 
that  body  controls  the  native  appointments 
throughout  the  Archipelago.  There  is  very  little 
doubt  that  the  party  is  in  thorough  harmony  with 
the  organization,  which  apparently  has  no  name, 
but  is  controlled  by  the  members  of  the  Partido 
Federal,  that  collects  from  every  Filipino  work- 
ing in  Manila  able  to  afford  it,  a  dollar, 
Mexican,  a  month.    It  is  said  on  reliable  author- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      223 

ity  that  over  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
a  month  are  thus  obtained.  What  the  purpose 
is  is  not  given  out,  but  it  has  connection  with  the 
accomplishment  of  Filipino  freedom,  at  least  so 
the  author  has  been  informed.  On  asking  a 
member  of  the  Partido  Federal,  the  author  was 
told  that  his  information  was  to  a  certain  extent 
correct,  but  that  it  meant  the  obtaining  of  their 
freedom  by  constitutional  means. 

The  military  authorities  do  not  credit  this  view, 
but  believe,  with  considerable  reason,  that  it  is 
the  intention  eventually,  say  in  the  course  of 
two  or  three  years,  when  Filipino  customs  col- 
lectors are  in  every  port  and  all  officials  are  Fili- 
pinos, to  import  large  quantities  of  arms  and 
ammunition  of  the  latest  type  and  pattern.  An- 
other very  suspicious  circumstance  is  the  exceed- 
ing interest  which  the  Partido  Federal  takes  in 
the  constabulary,  an  organization  of  natives,  more 
than  half  the  officers  of  which  are  Americans. 

The  Civil  Commission  has  been  accused  of  ap- 
pointing to  office  bad  men,  Filipinos  of  doubtful 
reputation  and  with  criminal  records.  One  case 
only  need  be  cited — that  of  General  Alexandrine, 
on  whose  hands  the  blood  of  Americans  and 
Americanistas  was  still  wet  when  he  received  his 
appointment.  His  reputation  for  brutality  and 
savage  acts  committed  on  defenseless  American 


224     As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

prisoners  exceeds  that  of  all  the  rest  of  the  Fili- 
pino generals  put  together.  Numbers  of  men 
have  been  executed  by  the  military  commission 
for  breaches  of  all  laws  of  civilization  in  their 
treatment  of  prisoners  of  war,  their  only  defense 
being  that  they  were  acting  under  the  personal 
orders  and  frequently  in  the  presence  of  General 
Alexandrino  himself,  and  yet  this  savage,  brutal 
scoundrel  is  hand  and  glove  with  the  Commission 
and  received  one  of  the  highest  appointments  in 
their  gift.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Partido  Fed- 
eral. 

Senor  Buencamino,  a  member  of  the  Federal 
Party,  an  educated  Filipino,  and  a  member  of  the 
Civil  Service  Commission,  on  his  way  to  the 
United  States  some  months  ago,  in  an  interview 
with  a  Honolulu  newspaper,  said: 

"I  approve  fully  the  policy  of  General  ChaflFee 
and  General  Smith  in  the  Philippines.  The  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  do  not  understand  the 
situation  in  the  Islands,  and  the  treatment  of 
the  Filipinos  may  seem  cruel  to  them,  but  it  is 
the  only  way  in  which  they  can  ever  be  con- 
quered." 

Sefior  Buencamino  has  mainly  Spanish  blood 
in  his  veins,  and  in  the  course  of  his  career  has 
been  "everything  by  turns  and  nothing  long." 
He  has  been  Spanish  official,  Filipino  official,  one 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      225 

of  the  Secretaries  of  Government  to  Aguinaldo, 
a  member  of  the  present  government,  and  if  some 
other  government  was  to  come  into  power  in  the 
Philippines  he  would  be  found  ready  and  waiting 
loyally  for  an  office  under  any  flag.  Buencamino 
used  to  consider  Aguinaldo  one  of  the  greatest 
men  in  the  world.  He  declared,  not  long  ago, 
before  the  Senate  Committee,  that  the  Filipinos 
looked  towards  Congress  to  give  them  a  liberal 
and  just  government  under  American  sovereignty 
(which  implies  that  the  government  as  constitut- 
ed by  the  Commission  is  neither  just  nor  liberal), 
and  that  even  as  it  was  at  present  they  had 
more  liberty  than  they  had  under  Aguinaldo. 
which,  considering  his  close  relations  to  Agui- 
naldo at  the  time  that  individual  was  in  power,  is, 
to  say  the  least,  a  little  ungrateful. 

The  Filipino  on  the  witness  stand  is  generally 
not  very  intelligent,  and  the  following  dialogue 
between  the  Judge  Advocate  and  a  witness  in  the 
Glenn  court  martial  on  the  water  cure  is  an  in- 
stance in  point : 

Q.  What  quantity  of  water  did  you  take  ? 

A.  Four  bottles  or  mere. 

Q.  Did  you  keep  this  water  in  your  stomach? 

A.    Yes,  sir,  I  kept  it. 

Q.    Did  you  throw  out  any  water? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  I  vomited  a  little. 


226      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

So  that  if  the  Judge  Advocate  had  asked  the 
witness,  "Did  you  feel  as  if  you  were  dying?" 
the  witness  would  have  answered,  "I  felt  as  if  I 
was  dying." 

Q.    And  did  you  die? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  I  did. 

An  organization  controlled  to  a  great  extent 
by  the  full-blooded  Filipinos  is  the  Katipunan 
Society,  which  has  numerous  branches  through- 
out the  Archipelago.  At  present  it  is  frowned 
upon  by  the  Partido  Federal,  as  its  purposes  are 
not  at  all  to  the  liking  of  the  latter.  It  repre- 
sents what  may  be  called  the  irreconcilable  class. 

Members  of  the  Katipunan  are  bound  to  give 
their  lives,  if  necessary,  to  make  their  country 
free,  and  to  kill  all  foreigners,  and  they  sign  the 
oaths  of  the  organization  in  blood  from  their  own 
bodies.  They  also  have  a  peculiar  custom  which 
is  prevalent  in  Java,  Borneo  and  other  parts  of 
the  Malay  Archipelago.  This  is  the  torturing 
and  killing  of  officials  whom  they  do  not  like  or 
who  are  dangerous  to  their  interests,  and  in  such 
a  way  that  neither  the  victim  nor  his  relatives  are 
aware  that  anything  unusual  is  the  matter.  They 
chop  up  very  fine  the  inner  bark  of  the  bamboo, 
so  fine  that  when  scattered  it  is  almost  impercept- 
ible to  the  naked  eye.  Then  they  approach  the 
servants  of  the  house  or  manage  to  get  one  of 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       227 

their  number  into  the  house  as  a  servant,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  place  this  powder  in  the  cup  or  plate 
of  the  individual  in  such  a  manner  that  the  rest 
of  the  family  will  not  suffer  from  eating  the 
same  dishes  or  drinking  from  the  same  coffee 
pot,  so  that  no  suspicion  of  poison  would  attach. 

At  first  it  has  little  effect,  but  in  a  few  days 
considerable  pain  appears  in  the  bowels  and  in- 
testines, and  it  is  asserted  that  the  illness  that 
overtook  Governor  Taft  and  General  Funston 
was  due  to  this  ancient  system  of  the  Katipunan 
Society.  This  much  is  certain,  that  they  both 
suffered  considerably,  and  that  the  ordinary 
operations  seemed  to  have  no  effect  save  to  re- 
lieve the  pain  temporarily,  and  they  had  to  be 
reoperated  upon  in  the  United  States  when  free 
from  the  continuance  of  the  cause  of  the  disease. 

The  Partido  Federal  desires  to  establish  and 
gain  the  confidence  of  the  Americans,  as  the  best 
means  of  getting  control  of  the  Archipelago ;  con- 
sequently the  methods  of  the  Katipunan  Society 
at  present  do  not  appeal  to  them. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Constabulary  and  Scouts. — Native  Forces  and  the  Work 
They  Are  Doing. — Active  Against  Ladrones. — 
Credit  Due  Captain  H.  T.  Allen. — Possible  Amal- 
gamation of  Constabulary  and  Scouts  into  Native 
Army. — Commission  Would  Nominate  Allen  for 
Brigadier. — Will  Native  Forces  Be  Loyal  in  the 
Next  Insurrection? — Probabilities  Against  It. — Un- 
pleasant Forebodings  of  the  Future. 

The  experiment  with  native  troops  is  being 
conducted  upon  two  different  lines,  one  being  the 
scouts  under  the  command  of  officers  who  are 
Americans,  with  two  or  three  exceptions,  and  the 
other  being  the  constabulary,  commanded  by 
Americans  and  natives  in  about  equal  propor- 
tions. 

The  scouts  are  drilled  and  disciplined  as  sol- 
diers, and  are  mainly  recruited  from  members  of 
the  lower  class  who  had  broken  somewhat  from 
the  iron  rule  of  the  "principals"  and  who  many 
times  served  the  American  forces  long  prior  to 
the  organization  of  the  Philippine  scouts.     Be- 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      229 

sides,  several  companies  are  composed  of  Maca- 
bebes,  that  class  of  soldiers  by  profession,  from  a 
small  district  in  Pampanga  Province,  and  many 
other  companies  have  large  proportions  of  veter- 
ans of  the  Spanish  guardia  civil  and  other  forces. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  constabulary  is  raised  in 
the  same  district  in  which  it  serves.  It  was  re- 
cruited mostly  after  the  surrender  and  disband- 
ment  of  the  insurgent  forces,  and  is  largely  com- 
posed, as  to  the  rank  and  file,  of  the  former  Fili- 
pino soldiers.  Many  of  the  native  inspectors  are 
also  of  the  same  class  and  were  former  insurgent 
officers. 

These  men  are  obedient  to  the  "principal"  class, 
and  the  question  is,  if  orders  for  an  insurrection 
should  be  passed  secretly  around  when  the 
American  garrison  of  the  Philippine  Islands  gets 
down  to  fifteen  thousand  men,  the  figure  which  it 
has  nearly  reached,  what  would  happen?  The 
scouts  would  fight  for  the  United  States  without 
doubt,  unless  the  rising  was  great  and  universal, 
in  which  case  they  also  would  probably  go  over. 
A  large  number  of  the  constabulary  would  go 
over,  if  their  native  officers  led  them.  The  situa- 
tion would  depend  therefore  largely  upon  the  at- 
titude of  the  native  officers. 

The  few  scout  officers  would  be  loyal,  but  the 
spirit  of  the  higher  classes  towards  the  native 


230      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

forces  is  very  different  as  to  the  two.  It  may 
be  said  to  be  hostile  to  the  scouts,  who  are  looked 
upon  as  in  the  service  of  the  Americans ;  friendly 
or  lukewarm  to  the  constabulary,  which  is  re- 
garded as  a  "national"  force. 

The  feeling  of  the  men  of  each  class  is  not 
very  friendly  to  all  appearances.  The  scouts 
view  themselves  as  soldiers  and  the  others  as 
police,  and  the  constabulary  consider  themselves 
to  be  soldiers  and  the  others  "Americanistas." 

When  a  Province  was  declared  under  civil  rule 
by  the  Commission,  those  insurgents  remaining 
in  the  field  ceased  to  be  considered  insurrectos 
but  were  called  ladrones,  and  regarded  as  such, 
and  it  was  to  capture  these  ladrones  that  the 
constabulary  was  considered  especially  fitted. 
The  constabulary  has  certainly  received  many 
surrenders  when  there  was  no  doubt  that  noth- 
ing would  happen  excepting  release  and  payment 
for  the  guns  of  those  surrendering.  It  is  sur- 
prising the  number  of  former  Americanistas  who 
suddenly  developed  into  ladrones,  if  the  state- 
ments of  the  constabulary  are  to  be  believed, 
and  many  have  been  captured  and  punished  ac- 
cordingly. 

So  far  as  maintaining  the  authority  of  the  civil 
government  in  most  of  the  towns  of  the  Islands 
is  concerned,  the  constabulary  is  the  hope  of 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      231 

the  Philippines  for  the  future,  and,  more  and 
more,  from  this  time  forward,  until  the  next 
insurrection  breaks  out,  the  work  of  the  army 
will  be  strictly  military  duty.  It  will  be  less 
and  less  police  and  deputy  sheriff  work. 

The  constabulary  is  a  police  force,  and,  in  ad- 
dition to  its  other  duties,  has  advisory  control 
over  the  municipal  police  of  the  towns.  Never- 
theless, although  its  principal  function  is  police 
work,  the  constabulary  has  many  of  the  qualifi- 
cations of  troops.  When  led  by  the  right  offi- 
cers, there  is  no  doubt  of  its  ability  to  stand  fire. 
This  was  proved  not  long  ago  in  Sorsogon,  when 
a  detachment  of  five  was  attacked  by  two  or 
three  hundred  insurgents.  They  stood  their 
ground,  and  fought  until  their  ammunition  was 
gone  and  three  of  their  number  wounded  and 
captured.  Then  the  two  remaining  made  a  dash 
to  escape,  jumping  into  the  sea  and  swimming 
a  long  distance.  The  principal  natives  of  the 
constabulary  are  in  close  touch  with  the  Partido 
Federal,  and  it  is  the  desire  of  that  party  to 
squelch  brigandage,  and  in  every  way  to  pacify 
the  Archipelago,  and  to  run  things  so  smoothly 
for  a  time  that  almost  all  the  American  soldiers 
will  be  taken  away. 

The  force  itself  and  its  work  have  been  ex- 
tensively exploited  in  print.    The  total  enroll- 


232      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

ment  at  the  beginning  of  July,  1901,  was  five 
thousand  men,  all  natives,  and  nearly  every  race 
and  tribe  in  the  Islands  were  reperesented,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Negritos,  it  being  the  policy 
to  give  each  different  people  guards  from  among 
their  own  kind,  so  far  as  it  was  possible,  believ- 
ing that  this  plan  would  prevent  the  engender- 
ing of  friction  and  the  breeding  of  hostility. 

Their  pay  varies  in  the  different  Provinces 
according  to  what  is  considered  living  wages 
in  that  particular  Province.  The  maximum  pay 
is:  first  sergeant,  50  pesos,  Mexican;  sergeant, 
40  pesos;  corporal,  35  pesos;  first-class  private, 
25  pesos ;  second  class  private,  20  pesos.  The 
men  ration  themselves  excepting  when  in  the 
field.  As  a  rule  they  buy  their  native  food  from 
the  little  tiendas  in  the  towns  where  they  are 
stationed.  The  Oriental  has  certain  peculiarities 
of  taste  which  makes  it  difficult  for  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  to  cater  to  him,  as  yet.  The  officers  pro- 
cure their  provisions  largely  from  the  Constabu- 
lary Commissary,  which  is  the  civil  supply  store, 
eked  out  with  such  products  of  the  country  as 
are  procurable.  The  inspectors,  as  the  officers 
are  called,  number  two  hundred  and  twenty-five, 
about  one-fourth  of  whom  are  natives,  who  have 
demonstrated,  at  all  events,  that  they  have  the 
absolute  confidence  of  their  men. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      233 

Broken  up  into  small  bands  under  low-rank- 
ing inspectors,  they  may  be  found  scattered 
throughout  the  pueblos  and  barrios  of  the  Archi- 
pelago, with  the  exception  of  the  Sulu  Archipel- 
ago, about  three-fourths  of  the  Island  of  Min- 
danao and  the  Island  of  Mindoro. 

The  armament  of  the  constabulary  is  somewhat 
varied.  About  four-fifths  of  the  men  are  armed 
with  the  Springfield  carbine,  and  the  remaining 
fifth  with  shot  guns.  As  the  object  of  the  con- 
stabulary is  supposed  to  be  peace  and  not  war, 
it  was  thought  that  the  shot  gun  would  prob- 
ably prove  the  more  effective  weapon.  About 
one-fourth  of  the  force  in  each  Province  is 
mounted,  and  forms  a  useful  body  when  unex- 
pectedly called  upon  to  go  to  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, in  response  to  any  sudden  call  for  assist- 
ance. It  had  been  the  intention  to  mount  a  larger 
portion  of  the  force,  which  will  probably  be  done 
later,  but  the  surra  and  glanders  have  wrought 
so  much  havoc  among  the  native  ponies  in  the 
Provinces,  that  it  has  been  almost  impossible 
to  procure  them  for  the  service  at  the  price  al- 
lowed by  the  Commission. 

The  constabulary  has  an  incipient  signal  corps, 
although  not  organized  as  such.  Wherever  the 
military  no  longer  needed  them,  the  telephone 
and  telegraph  lines  were  turned  over  to  the  con- 


234      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

stabulary,  which  is  intrusted  with  the  care  of 
them.  About  a  thousand  miles  of  line  have  been 
turned  over  to  them  in  this  way.  They  make  no 
attempt  to  operate  the  telegraph  lines,  having 
no  operators,  although  in  time  the  government 
school  for  telegraph  operators  will  supply  na- 
tives capable  of  doing  this  work,  but  the  constab- 
ulary keeps  the  lines  in  repair,  which  it  is  able 
to  do  with  such  skilled  labor  as  can  be  secured 
in  the  Provinces,  and  it  also  has  men  who  are 
able  to  operate  the  telephone  exchanges,  and  this 
system  is  of  service  in  conducting  the  work. 

In  certain  portions  of  the  Islands,  in  the  wild- 
est regions,  the  constabulary  carries  the  mail. 

The  longest  route  is  one  from  Bantista,  in  Pan- 
gasinan  Province,  through  Nueva  Viscaya  Prov- 
ince to  Echague,  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Cagayan  river.  The  mail  is  carried  on  ponies 
with  a  guard  of  a  corporal  and  six  men.  The 
constabulary  also  has  a  water  branch  consisting 
of  four  boats,  the  "Rover,"  which  is  stationed 
in  Viscayas,  the  "Ranger,"  plying  about  southern 
Luzon,  the  "Scout,"  in  the  waters  of  northern 
Luzon,  and  the  "Pope,"  in  Laguna  de  Bay.  The 
three  former  are  each  one  hundred  and  ten  feet 
long,  and  the  "Pope"  measures  only  sixty.  These 
boats  are  not  only  used  to  carry  men  between  the 
various  posts,  but  transfer  supplies  that  have  to 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      235 

be  distributed  by  the  Insular  Government,  such 
as  the  Purchasing  Agent  has  to  forward.  There 
is  an  inspector  on  each  boat  aside  from  the  sail- 
ing master,  and  upon  him  devolves  the  duties 
that  an  army  quartermaster  has  to  perform  on 
a  transport.  A  guard  of  six  men  usually  goes 
along  with  each  boat. 

The  chief  civil  employees  in  the  Provinces  to 
be  supplied  from  the  constabulary  commissary 
besides  the  constabulary  inspectors  themselves, 
are  the  school  teachers.  The  constabulary  sup- 
plies the  inspectors  who  have  the  duties  of  base 
quartermasters  and  base  commissaries  to  per- 
form in  the  principal  port  towns,  forwarding 
not  only  provisions,  but  other  civil  supplies. 

The  constabulary  has  done  good  work  among 
the  actual  ladrones  or  brigands,  not  those  who 
were  merely  called  so  by  the  Commission,  be- 
cause they  had  not  surrendered  when  the  Com- 
mission decided  to  call  the  Province  pacified, 
and  they  have  diminished  ladronism  in  Zambales, 
Bangasinan,  Nueva  Ecija  and  Pampanga,  and 
it  has  practically  been  stamped  out  in  Buelacan, 
Tarlac,  Rizal,  Albay  and  in  the  Camarines.  The 
constabulary  also  has  considerably  reduced  the 
number  of  ladrones  in  Cavite.  After  the  sur- 
render of  the  insurrecto  forces  in  Samar,  when 
there  was  no  further  field  for  insurrectos  in  the 


236      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Province  of  Leyte,  the  remaining  insurrectos  sur- 
rendered in  that  Province  to  the  constabulary, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  they  received  orders 
to  do  so  from  the  headquarters  of  the  Partido 
Federal  in  Manila.  A  rather  remarkable  fact  is, 
that  of  these  five  thousand  men,  all  raw  recruits 
within  a  year,  only  ten  have  deserted.  Only  one 
case  was  traceable  to  disloyalty,  dissatisfaction 
with  the  service,  women  and  debt  being  account- 
able for  the  others. 

The  chief  of  this  service,  who  has  welded  the 
body  together,  and  made  what,  for  the  present, 
certainly  may  be  considered  a  highly  efficient 
organization,  and  one  that  he  may  well  feel  proud 
of,  is  Captain  H.  T.  Allen,  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry, 
who  was  a  Major  in  the  Forty-third  Volunteer 
Infantry.  He  is  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and 
has  spent  a  number  of  years  abroad,  having  been 
military  attache  at  Berlin  and  St.  Petersburg. 
Captain  Allen  is  a  soldier,  and  selects  soldiers 
as  his  assistants,  and  expects  them  to  make  sol- 
diers of  the  enlisted  men.  Most  of  the  Amer- 
ican inspectors  are  men  who  have  had  rank  in 
the  volunteer  army,  or  were  non-commissioned 
officers  in  the  regular  army.  They  are  a  lot  of 
young,  well  trained,  well  disciplined  men,  loyal 
to  the  service  that  they  are  endeavoring  to  bring 
to  perfection. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.     237 

The  scouts  are  a  portion  of  the  United  States 
Army,  and  the  officers  of  the  scouts  are  on  the 
regular  army  list.  No  officers  of  the  scouts  have 
at  present  a  higher  rank  than  that  of  first  lieu- 
tenant, although  there  are  provisions  for  mak- 
ing the  number  of  the  force  five  thousand.  It 
has  been  suggested  that  when  the  army  has  been 
reduced  below  the  fifteen  thousand  at  present 
in  the  Island,  the  scouts  and  the  constabulary 
should  be  amalgamated  into  a  native  Philippine 
army,  officered  by  about  one-half  Americans  and 
one-half  natives.  If  this  should  be  accomplished, 
there  is  very  little  doubt  that  the  Commission 
would  nominate  Captain  Allen  as  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, and  for  such  an  appointment  in  the  Philip- 
pine army  he  is  admirably  qualified. 

As  to  the  advisability  of  having  a  Philippine 
army  or  even  the  organizations  at  present  in  ex- 
istence, which  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  there 
is  considerable  difference  of  opinion.  When  the 
time  of  trouble  comes,  as  it  is  certain  to  do  in 
the  opinion  of  nearly  every  army  man  who  has 
lived  in  the  Provinces,  and  has  been  behind  the 
scenes,  will  the  scouts  and  constabulary  be  loyal, 
or  will  they  not  rather  be  an  organized  body 
ready  to  start  the  revolution  for  independence? 
Would  they  not  rise  and  massacre  every  white 
officer,  and  with  the  organization  take  the  leading 


238      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

cities  in  the  Provinces,  and  even  Manila  itself, 
before  troops  could  be  sent  from  the  United 
States  in  sufficient  numbers  to  retake  the  Archi- 
pelago ? 

Such  a  success  on  their  part  would  bring  to 
the  front  every  man  in  the  Philippines  capable 
of  bearing  arms,  for  in  four  or  five  years  they 
would  no  longer  be  a  crowd  of  ignorant  bolo 
men,  but  soldiers  trained  in  the  manual  of  arms. 
Before  such  an  insurrection  would  be  under- 
taken, an  immense  reserve  supply  of  arms  suf- 
ficient to  arm  half  a  million  would  be  accu- 
mulated. Such  a  revolution  would  not  be  quelled 
as  quickly  as  the  last  has  been,  but  would  cost 
an  immense  expenditure  of  blood  and  money,  in 
addition  to  which  there  would  be  a  massacre 
of  whites  throughout  the  Archipelago,  and  there 
is  little  doubt  that  for  a  time,  at  all  events,  the 
Philippines  would  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Fil- 
ipinos. 

This  is  no  fancy  sketch  of  a  vague  possibility, 
but  is  a  grave  possibility,  in  the  opinion  of  sev- 
eral thousands  of  Americans  who  have  been  and 
are  now  in  the  Philippines.  Time  alone  can 
prove  whether  it  will  come  to  pass  or  not. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

The  Author's  Views.— The  Utter  Failure  in  the  Matter 
of  Statesmanship. — Governor  Taft  a  Politician,  noli 
a  Diplomat. — Good  Lawyer  but  Poor  Executive. — 
Credit  Deserved  for  Minor  Accomplishments. — In- 
surrection Not  Probable  before  Five  Years. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  the  author  has  en- 
deavored to  give  the  situation  as  it  is  at  the 
present  time,  as  seen  by  the  vast  majority  of 
Americans  in  the  Philippines,  and  as  far  as  pos- 
sible not  to  inflict  his  own  views  on  the  pub- 
lic. In  this  chapter,  however,  it  is  the  inten- 
tion of  the  author  to  give  his  own  version  of  what 
he  considers  to  be  the  situation  there. 

The  general  public  of  the  United  States  knows 
but  little  of  anything  connected  with  the  Phil- 
ippines for  the  past  fifteen  months,  since  civil 
rule  went  into  effect.  In  the  first  place,  who 
has  been  heard  from?  The  army  has  not  been 
permitted  to  talk ;  very  few  of  its  members  would 
have  done  so  in  any  case,  as  no  member  of  the 


240      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

army,  officer  or  enlisted  man,  is  permitted  to 
criticise  the  actions  of  superior  officers.  In  a  few 
instances,  where  some  one  in  the  army  has  told 
the  truth  publicly  with  regard  to  the  situation  in 
the  Philippines,  he  has  been  promptly  squelched, 
which  has  had  the  effect  of  closing  the  mouths 
all  the  more  tightly.  The  average  civilian  in 
the  Philippines  has  no  particular  object  in  mak- 
ing public  the  situation,  and  prefers  to  sit,  after 
the  work  of  the  day  is  over,  in  the  American 
Club,  the  Press  Club,  or  one  of  the  other  resorts, 
and  talk  of  trouble  to  come  and  the  poor  prospect 
ahead  for  the  Philippines,  and  pray  for  a  gov- 
ernment that  knows  the  wants  and  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  people,  both  Filipinos  and  Americans. 
Practically  the  only  ones  who  have  been  heard 
from  are  high  civil  officials,  such  as  Governor 
Taft  and  the  members  of  the  Commission, 
through  letters  sent  home.  These  are  the  very 
last  men  to  know  and  realize  the  situation  in 
the  Philippines.  The  reports  sent  to  them  all 
trend  in  a  certain  direction,  and  their  trips  into 
the  interior  have  convinced  them  of  the  truth- 
fulness of  the  reports.  They  cannot  realize  the 
insincerity  of  the  demonstrations  that  greet  them, 
the  last  of  which  was,  according  to  the  oldest  in- 
habitants of  the  place,  the  greatest  in  the  history 
of  the  Philippines,  for  that  particular  location. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      241 

In  reading  the  story  of  the  Indian  mutiny,  one 
is  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Hindus,  like 
the  Filipinos,  are  artists  in  dissimulation,  for 
the  very  last  people  to  believe  that  the  rebellion 
was  coming  were  those  in  the  immediate  com- 
mand of  the  native  troops.  Colonels  and  officers 
who  swore  by  their  men,  their  loyalty  and  their 
devotion,  were  among  the  first  to  be  massacred, 
and  it  is  the  same  in  the  Philippines  to-day. 
Members  of  the  Civil  Commission  and  the  white 
governors  of  Provinces  are  practically  the  only 
ones  who  do  not  see  the  distant  storm  signals,  not 
that  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer  there  will  be 
another  insurrection  within  the  next  five  years, 
although  the  average  man  in  the  Philippines  puts 
it  down  at  a  much  less  time  than  that. 

The  Commission  has  blundered  and  blundered 
and  blundered.  With  the  best  intentions  in  the 
world,  with  honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose,  it 
has  passed  laws  which  were  useless,  and  put  men 
in  office  who  are  disgraces  even  to  the  Filipino 
race.  These  things  must  have  become  patent 
to  the  Commission  itself,  for  they  have  done 
all  they  could  to  suppress  any  criticism  what- 
soever of  their  actions. 

A  law  was  passed  muzzling  the  press.  Mem- 
bers of  the  Commission  wrote  to  those  they  con- 
sidered influential,  abusing  all  those  who  had  sent 


242      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

or  written  anything  against  the  sacred  majesty 
of  themselves.  Three  correspondents  who  had 
been  in  the  Philippines,  and  had  written  their 
views  on  the  subject,  were  characterized  as  sen- 
sational, as  liars  and  as  knowing  nothing  what- 
ever in  regard  to  the  existing  situation.  They 
all  had  been  in  the  Philippines  for  some  time, 
and  had  studied  fairly  and  intelligently  the  situ- 
ation, and  their  deductions  were  the  same  as  those 
of  the  author. 

Stephen  Bonsall,  who  wrote  on  the  situ- 
ation for  the  New  York  "Herald"  and 
the  magazines,  has  probably  received  the 
most  abuse  from  the  members  of  the 
Commission.  Sydney  Adamson,  for  "Leslie's 
Weekly,"  has  also  fallen  in  for  a  shower, 
while  the  "Widow's"  exposure  of  affairs  in 
"Town  Topics"  has  also  been  the  subject  of 
considerable  criticism.  Had  these  writers  re- 
mained longer  in  the  Philippines,  and  extended 
their  series  of  letters  and  articles,  the  situation 
as  it  exists  would  probably  be  more  familiar 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States  than  it  is 
at  present. 

There  are  no  correspondents  for  newspapers 
in  the  Philippines  at  present,  other  than  those 
of  The  Associated  Press  and  the  Laffan  Press 
Association,  and  it  is  not  the  province  of  these 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      243 

correspondents  to  touch  on  the  poHtical  situa- 
tion, but  merely  to  record  the  day's  happenings 
as  they  occur.  Consequently  little  of  the  situa- 
ti<Mi  can  be  learned  from  their  dispatches. 

Attacks  have  been  made  at  certain  times 
against  the  honesty  and  the  integrity  and  even 
the  morality  of  some  members  of  the  Commission, 
but  there  seems  but  little  to  base  such  charges 
upon ;  at  all  events,  nobody  has  openly  stated  his 
opinion  in  a  public  court.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  their  honesty  is  irreproachable,  but  honesty 
and  incompetence  do  not  constitute  a  good  gov- 
ernment, though  probably  a  better  one  than  would 
dishonesty  and  ability. 

Governor  Taft  is  unquestionably,  to  judge 
from  all  reports,  a  good  lawyer,  but  he  is  not 
a  good  executive.  The  Honorable  Luke  E. 
Wright  is  an  estimable  gentleman  of  charming 
manners  and  courteous  bearing,  but  he  lacks  the 
knowledge  of  the  first  principles  of  government. 
He  would  not  make  a  good  governor,  even  of 
his  own  State  in  the  Union,  and  still  less  does 
he  make  one  for  a  place  like  the  Philippines, 
where  such  a  position  demands  a  more  unusual 
mixture  of  qualities  than  most  men  possess.  As 
for  the  other  American  members  of  the  Commis- 
sion, Dean  Worcester,  H.  C.  Ide  and  Professor 
Moses,  they  all  seem  skilful  and  intelligent  men 


244      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

in  their  particular  walks  of  life,  but  not  one  of 
them  has  the  necessary  qualities  to  understand, 
much  less  to  govern,  the  wily  Filipino,  "our  lit- 
tle brown  brother."  The  Filipino  members  of 
the  Commission  may  be  classed  as  nonentities, 
ready  to  vote  with  the  Governor,  should  such  an 
unusual  thing  happen  as  the  defection  of  the 
white  commissioners,  but  there  is  very  little  prob- 
ability of  such  a  thing  happening,  as  the  pay  is 
good  and  the  position  an  important  one,  and 
the  members  of  the  Commission  are  very  well 
aware  that  the  slightest  word  of  the  Governor 
in  Washington,  that  some  one  of  the  members 
was  uncongenial  to  the  rest  of  the  Commission, 
would  have  due  effect. 

Governor  Taft  boasts  of  his  judiciary  system. 
In  theory  this  system  is  good;  in  practice  it 
has  not  proved  so.  The  judiciary  is  subject  ab- 
solutely and  entirely  to  the  Commission ;  or,  in 
other  words,  to  the  Governor.  He  appoints  them, 
he  dismisses  them,  and  the  Governor  of  the  Phil- 
ippines to-day  is  an  autocrat  more  powerful  in 
his  domain  than  is  the  ruler  of  Russia  in  the 
vast  dominions  of  the  Czar.  Governor  Taft  to-day 
is  a  military  despot  but  lightly  veiled  with  a  civil 
title.  He  is  the  Governor  in  name  and  in  fact, 
and  to  him  and  to  him  alone  can  be  attributed 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      245 

the  success  or  failure  of  the  doings  of  the  pres- 
ent Commission. 

The  author  believes  that  for  the  present  in 
the  Philippines,  the  autocratic  form  of  govern- 
ment is  justifiable  and  desirable,  but  Governor 
Taft  is  not  the  man  for  the  place.  It  has  always 
been  a  mystery  to  the  author  why  such  a  suc- 
cessful form  of  government  as  was  conducted 
in  Cuba,  was  not  duplicated  in  the  Philippines. 
Surely  it  is  impossible  that  the  reason  was  that 
there  was  no  man  in  the  country  willing  to  take 
the  position,  the  equal  in  ability  of  General  Wood. 
Able  as  that  gentleman  is,  surely  his  peer  could 
have  been  found  to  do  a  similar  work  in  the 
Philippine  Archipelago.  Such  a  man  as  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Philippines,  neither  civil  nor  milita- 
ry, but  Governor  pure  and  simple,  with  a  Filipino 
cabinet,  on  the  same  lines  as  the  one  General 
Wood  had  in  Cuba,  would  have  been  infinitely 
more  satisfactory  to  the  natives  and  unquestion- 
ably more  so  to  the  Americans.  The  difference 
between  Taft  and  Wood,  is  that  the  former  is 
a  politician  and  a  "trimmer,"  while  the  latter 
is  a  diplomat  and  a  statesman,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that,  in  American  interests,  such  a  man 
as  Leonard  Wood  will  succeed  Taft  in  the  Phil- 
ippines, and  such  a  form  of  government  as  was 


246      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

founded  in  Cuba,  will  succeed  the  present  top- 
heavy  organization. 

In  the  branches  of  public  work,  such  as  street 
cleaning,  municipal  affairs,  etc.,  there  have  been 
vast  improvements  in  the  Philippines,  and  it  has 
been  mostly  in  the  higher  branches  of  gov- 
ernment, where  statesmanship  was  required,  that 
Governor  Taft  has  shown  his  lack  of  executive 
ability,  and  his  failure  as  Governor.  The  mu- 
nicipality of  the  City  of  Manila  is  a  model  one, 
and  the  Governor  is  fully  entitled  to  his  share 
of  the  credit,  with  Messrs.  Sleeper  and  McDon- 
nell. 

The  Educational  Department  has,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  author,  scarcely  come  up  to  the  ex- 
pectations that  were  held  in  regard  to  it,  but  that 
has  probably  been  not  so  much  the  fault  of  Doc- 
tor Atkinson  and  those  under  him,  as  the  con- 
trol of  the  teachers  by  native  officials,  which 
could  hardly  be  avoided.  A  considerable  num- 
ber of  the  teachers  scarcely  came  up  to  the  stand- 
ard that  Doctor  Atkinson  would  have  desired, 
and  insisted  upon,  had  he  personally  examined 
every  applicant  for  the  positions.  Still,  in  the 
main,  the  educational  system  of  the  Philippines  is 
a  success. 

The  judicial  system  would  be  a  success  if  it 
were  laid  on  a  better  foundation.  If  judges  were 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       247 

appointed  without  the  power  of  removal  by  any 
one  until  sixty-five  years  of  age,  it  would  make 
them  more  independent  and  less  subversive  to  the 
desires  of  the  Commission,  or  rather  the  Gov- 
ernor, while,  if  ever  a  mistaken  appointment  was 
made  in  the  Philippines,  it  was  that  of  the  pres- 
ent Attorney-General,  who  seems  more  of  a  harle- 
quin than  a  lawyer.  He  lacks  ability  and  the 
dignity  that  the  position  demands,  and  he  em- 
barrassed his  master,  the  Governor,  very  much, 
when  he  notified  Judge  Odlin  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  do  a  certain  thing  because  it  was  the 
wish  of  the  Commission.  There  seems  no  just 
reason  why  trial  by  jury  should  not  exist,  cer- 
tainly in  the  case  of  white  persons,  Americans 
and  foreigners,  of  whom  there  is  a  very  large 
number  in  Manila.  It  would  be  an  easy  matter 
to  draw  juries,  to  hear  cases,  at  all  events,  where 
a  man's  liberty  was  at  stake. 

What  the  army  has  done  in  the  Philippines  is 
too  well  known  to  require  the  author  to  say  much 
with  regard  to  it,  excepting  that  all  the  tales  of 
brutality  that  have  lately  been  commented  upon  in 
the  press  and  in  Congress,  have  been  greatly  ex- 
aggerated, and  in  many  cases  are  pure  falsehoods. 
In  the  case  of  Captain  Ryan,  of  the  Fifteenth  Cav- 
alry, for  example,  whose  court  martial  was  or- 
dered, the  evidence  was  such  on  the  part  of  the 


248      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

prosecution  that  it  was  considered  by  the  mili- 
tary authorities  in  the  Philippines  good  policy 
to  stop  the  trial  after  the  prosecution  had  fin- 
ished, but  it  was  afterwards  deemed  advisable 
to  allow  it  to  continue,  with  the  result,  about 
which  there  could  have  been  no  question,  that  the 
Captain  was  acquitted.  Much  has  been  said  with 
regard  to  the  court  martial  of  General  Smith 
and  its  result.  There  is  little  question  that  Gen- 
eral Smith  was  indiscreet  in  his  remarks  to  Major 
Waller,  but  they  were  uttered  on  the  field  of  mas- 
sacre at  Balangiga,  with  the  dead  mutilated  out 
of  all  recognition  lying  around.  A  man  may  be 
pardoned  for  any  remarks  made  under  a  moment- 
ary impulse  of  passion. 

Major  Waller  understood  that  General  Smith's 
words  were  not  orders  in  the  exact  sense,  as  he 
testified  on  the  stand  that  he  did  not  believe  Gen- 
eral Smith  meant  him  to  kill  defenseless  men 
who  were  not  in  arms  against  the  United  States, 
nor  did  he  do  so.  He  did  not  suppose  for  a  mo- 
ment, that  General  Smith  meant  indiscriminately 
to  kill  children  or  women,  but  rather  those  boys 
who  fought  in  the  ranks  as  men,  and  actually 
bore  arms.  There  is  little  question  that  the  cam- 
paign in  Samar  was  conducted  with  firmness  and 
severity,  and  with  the  result  that  intractable 
Samar  is  the  most  pacified  of  all  the  Provinces, 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      249 

and  this  was  accomplished  with  comparatively 
small  loss  of  life ;  but  instead  of  having  a  statue 
erected  to  him  on  the  Luneta,  as  the  pacificator 
of  Samar,  and  being  promoted  to  Major- 
Generalship,  General  Smith  finds  himself,  at 
about  the  close  of  an  honorable  career,  devoted 
for  forty  odd  years  to  the  interests  of  his  coun- 
try, in  the  Civil  War,  in  Indian  campaigns,  in 
Cuba  and  in  the  Philippines,  doing  his  duty  as 
a  soldier  should,  and  as  he  saw  it  right  to  do,  liv- 
ing in  retirement,  as  a  monumental  example  of 
a  nation's  ingratitude. 

The  chapter  on  the  currency  question  gives 
the  opinion  held  by  the  author  on  that  subject. 
It  is  the  one  question  that  those  who  have  an  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  of  the  Philippines  should 
bring  up  in  Congress  at  the  earliest  possible  mo- 
ment. 

What  will  be  the  future  of  the  Philippines,  is 
difficult  to  foretell  at  present.  Should  they  be 
sold  to  the  Japanese,  or  should  a  form  of 
government  be  given  to  them  allowing  them 
to  make  their  own  capital  under  the  protection 
of  the  United  States,  which  would  hold  Manila 
and  the  surrounding  country  for  twenty  miles, 
with  a  considerable  body  of  troops  stationed  in 
Manila  ?  This  would  seem  as  good  a  plan  as  any. 
The  Filipinos  should  be  allowed  to  elect  their 


250      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

President.  They  should  not  be  allowed  to  keep 
an  armed  body  of  over  seven  thousand  men, 
which  should  be  enough  for  all  police  business, 
and  they  should  be  forced  by  the  United  States 
to  act  according-  to  the  laws  of  nations  in  their 
dealings  with  foreign  governments.  If  the 
United  States  should  continue  to  keep  the  Archi- 
pelago, a  very  much  stronger  and  more  stable 
form  of  government  than  exists  to-day  should 
be  at  once  placed  in  charge. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  Stranger  in  Manila  Soon  Desires  to  Return  Home. — 
No  Sorrow  Felt  at  Leaving. — Choice  of  Routes. — 
Author  Selects  Coldest. — Trip  by  the  Canadian  Pa- 
cific "Empress  of  Japan." — Hong  Kong. — Shanghai. 
— Nagasaki. — Kobe. — Yokohama. — Vancouver. — Sal- 
mon Canneries. — Lakes  in  the  Clouds. — Magnificent 
Banff. — Home. 

The  first  two  or  three  weeks  after  a  man's 
arrival  in  the  Philippines,  he  is  impressed  with 
the  difference  from  the  life  to  which  he  has  been 
accustomed  in  a  colder  climate,  but  he  does  not 
feel  to  any  great  extent  the  disagreeableness  of 
tropical  life  in  Manila.  He  is  vaguely  aware  that 
it  is  exceedingly  warm,  not  to  say  hot,  that  he  is 
perspiring  a  great  deal  more  than  usual,  and  that 
at  the  end  of  a  day  he  feels  exhausted,  especially 
if  he  has  tried  much  walking.  After  the  first 
few  days,  he  has  probably  got  into  clothes  more 
suited  to  the  climate  than  those  in  which  he  came 
ashore  from  the    transport    or    the    mercantile 


252      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

steamer  that  brought  him  to  port.  The  proba- 
bility is,  that  by  this  time  he  experiences  the  first 
of  the  delights  that  tickles  the  Northern  sojourner 
in  the  tropics,  and  has  experienced  the  full  effect 
of  prickly  heat,  which  he  adds  to  by  scratching 
and  rubbing,  until  at  night  he  is  somewhat  like 
a  boiled  lobster. 

Within  a  few  weeks,  a  large  number  of  new 
arrivals  get  the  usual  climatic  fever,  which,  how- 
ever, does  not  last  any  length  of  time ;  those  who 
get  it  become  seasoned  for  a  time  to  the  climate. 
Unless  he  is  of  an  exceptional  temperament,  cer- 
tainly before  he  has  been  there  three  months,  the 
new  arrival  begins  to  look  forward  to  the  day 
when  he  may  go  home,  and  by  the  time  he  has 
received  his  first  month's  pay,  if  he  is  working 
for  the  Government  and  gets  it  at  the  rate  of  2.12, 
when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  bank  rate  is  2.40, 
when  he  has  had  to  pay  his  bills  for  the  month 
in  American  gold  or  the  bank  equivalent,  he 
begins  to  wish  that  the  time  were  ripe  for  him  to 
start  home  immediately — and  a  good  many  do 
start.  If  he  is  one  of  those  that  remain,  he 
plunges  into  what  amusements  there  are,  and 
manages  to  enjoy  life  probably  as  much  or  more 
so  than  he  would  at  home. 

Manila  is  unfortunate  in  that  it  has  no  resorts 
where  cooling  breezes  and  a  higher  altitude  may 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      253 

be  obtained,  so  that  a  man  can  take  a  run  up 
on  Saturday  night,  and  remain  there  until 
Monday  morning,  the  only  place  being  the  hills 
of  Benguet,  to  reach  which  takes  some  days.  Here 
there  is  a  sanitarium  provided  for  employees 
of  the  civil  government  who  have  had  severe  ill- 
nesses and  need  recuperation,  but  during  the  past 
year  it  has  principally  been  used  as  a  summer 
resort  for  the  families  of  the  members  of  the  Com- 
mission, while  their  summer  cottages  are  being 
built  on  the  celebrated  road  on  which  so  much 
money  has  been  squandered. 

When  the  fact  was  made  public  that  members 
of  the  Commission  were  using  the  government 
sanitarium  as  their  summer  residence,  it  was  of- 
ficially stated  for  publication  that  as  there  was 
practically  nobody  sick  enough  to  be  sent  to  the 
sanitarium,  the  place  was  comparatively  empty, 
and  that  the  Commission  had  it  on  the  under- 
standing that  when  patients  arrived,  room  should 
be  found  for  them.  This  is  doubtless  correct 
and  room  would  have  been  found  for  those  sent 
by  medical  authorities,  but  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  complaint  and  ill-feeling  in  the  matter  among 
the  Government  employees  in  Manila,  many  of 
whom  thought  that  they  would  have  been  sent, 
had  the  place  not  been  occupied  for  other  pur- 
poses. 


254      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

Finally  a  day  comes  when  the  foreigner,  if  he 
has  escaped  the  cholera,  the  plague,  dengue  fever, 
dysentery  and  the  other  ills  that  are  liable  to  take 
him  off  to  a  better  land  in  that  most  unhealthy 
climate,  is  able  to  return  to  his  home,  and  such 
a  day  finally  came  to  the  author.  Then  arises 
the  question  as  to  the  best  method  of  return. 
Some,  of  course,  have  to  return  on  transports ; 
others,  not  so  fortunate,  have  to  make  a  choice 
of  various  mercantile  lines.  The  cheapest  and 
the  longest  is  probably,  to  take  a  tramp  steamer 
from  Manila  through  the  Suez  Canal  to  New 
York.  This  takes  about  seven  weeks  and  costs 
from  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  The  Pacific  Mail  Steamship 
Company  runs  a  boat  once  a  month,  direct  from 
Manila  to  San  Francisco,  touching  at  Hong 
Kong,  Shanghai  and  Japan,  and  about  ev- 
ery ten  days  from  Hong  Kong,  which  can 
be  reached  in  forty-eight  hours  by  local 
steamers.  A  Japanese  line  runs  from  Hong 
Kong  to  San  Francisco,  and  there  is  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway's  Royal  Mail  Steamship 
Line,  which  runs  from  Hong  Kong  to  Van- 
couver, at  intervals  of  about  ten  days. 

The  author,  after  giving  the  matter  some 
thought,  and  not  having  any  particular  prefer- 
ence for  any  line,  decided  that  he  had  had  all 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      255 

tKe  hot  weather  he  wanted  for  a  time,  so  he 
chose  the  coolest  route,  and  took  the  Canadian 
Pacific.  On  the  seventh  of  July,  he  steamed  out 
of  Manila  Bay  on  the  "Rosetta  Maru,"  unjustly 
nicknamed  the  "Rolling  Rosy,"  a  large  steamer 
that  is  engaged  now  solely  in  the  trade  between 
Hong  Kong  and  Manila.  She  was  formerly, 
before  being  purchased  by  a  Japanese  line,  the 
"Rosetta,"  belonging  to  the  celebrated  English 
P.  &  O.  Line,  which  runs  to  India,  Australia 
and  China,  and  other  ports  in  the  far  East.  On 
the  trip  to  Hong  Kong,  she  belied  her  nick- 
name, as  usual,  and  the  boat  came  in  sight  of 
the  peak  some  forty-two  hours  out  of  Manila, 
making  the  landing  two  hours  later.  The 
"Rosetta,"  as  a  rule,  makes  the  trip  in  a  shorter 
time  than  the  majority  of  boats  on  that  line. 
After  residing  for  months  in  Manila,  the  trav- 
eler arriving  at  Hong  Kong  notices  and  ap- 
preciates the  difference  at  once.  In  Manila, 
every  restriction  seems  to  be  put  in  the  way  of 
steamers,  apparently  with  the  object  of  discour- 
aging them  from  coming  there,  whereas,  in  Hong 
Kong,  as  soon  as  the  doctor  has  been  on  board 
and  found  out  that  there  is  no  infectious  disease, 
the  passengers  are  at  liberty  to  go  ashore  im- 
mediately, and  the  ship  to  commence  unloading. 
On  shore,  too,  all  is  different. 


256      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

It  would  almost  seem  as  though  Hong  Kong 
at  present  must  be  undergoing  a  boom,  for  large, 
tall  buildings  are  going  up  in  every  direction. 
The  hum  of  business  immediately  attracts  one, 
and  there  seems  to  be  no  lack  of  labor  there, 
everybody  apparently  being  busy,  and  the  major- 
ity having  a  look  of  pleasant  contentment.  June, 
July  and  August  are  exceedingly  hot  months  in 
Hong  Kong,  hotter  even  than  Manila,  but  Hong 
Kong  is  blessed  in  one  respect  in  a  way  that  Ma- 
nila is  not,  having  a  high  hill  on  the  peak  of  which 
a  big  hotel  is  built,  which  gpives  one  a  magnifi- 
cent view,  and  also  the  certainty  of  being  cool 
and  comfortable,  no  matter  how  hot  it  may  be 
below  in  the  city  and  in  the  harbor.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  rich  people  of  Hong  Kong  have 
houses  upon  the  peak,  some  of  them  used 
only  in  the  summer  months. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  July,  the  author  left  by  the 
"Empress  of  Japan,"  one  of  the  fine  mail  steam- 
ers belonging  to  the  Canadian  Pacific,  on  the  long 
voyage  to  Vancouver.  After  a  run  of  some  fifty- 
nine  hours,  she  anchored  at  Woosong,  where  a 
steam  tug  carried  those  passengers  desiring  to 
spend  ten  hours  in  Shanghai,  up  the  river  to 
that  port,  about  twelve  miles  away. 

Shanghai  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  cities 
in  China,  not  so  much  the  native  portion  of  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.       257 

city,  which  is  like  any  other  native  Chinese 
place,  as  the  foreign  residential  and  business 
quarter.  Here  is  a  magnificent  settlement,  con- 
sisting of  the  various  concessions  under  a  joint 
government  elected  by  the  whites  themselves,  a 
club  that  ranks  with  any  in  the  Orient,  and  the 
leading  hotel,  the  Astor  House,  probably  the  best 
in  China;  at  all  events,  it  has  that  reputation 
with  people  who  have  stayed  there  for  any  length 
of  time.  An  American  visiting  Shanghai  should 
not  fail  to  call  upon  Mr.  Goodenough,  the  Consul 
General,  who  always  makes  Americans  feel  at 
home. 

Thirty-six  hours  from  Woosong,  early  on  a 
Monday  morning,  the  steamer  glided  into  the 
harbor  of  Nagasaki,  where  a  couple  of  hours 
were  occupied  by  the  quarantine  officer,  exam- 
ining the  health  of  each  individual  passenger 
aboard,  when,  fortunately,  all  being  well,  every 
one  who  so  desired  was  allowed  to  go  on  shore, 
and  the  ship  took  on  the  supply  of  coal  neces- 
sary to  take  her  to  Vancouver. 

Before  the  advent  of  Admiral  Dewey  in  Ma- 
nila Bay,  there  were  but  few  Americans  except- 
ing globe  trotters  who  knew  anything  concern- 
ing the  town  of  Nagasaki.  To-day  it  is  person- 
ally known  to  thousands,  as  every  transport  go- 
ing from  the  Philippines  stays    there    to    coal^ 


258      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

There  is  a  United  States  quartermaster  perma- 
nently stationed  there,  and  it  is  the  coaHng  sta- 
tion for  all  of  the  transports  returning  home, 
and  many  going  out.  Nagasaki  has  a  lovely 
bay,  and  is  a  most  interesting  Japanese  town. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  have  been 
spent  there  for  souvenirs  and  curios  alone  by 
Americans  within  the  last  four  years.  Tortoise 
shell  work,  in  particular,  is  a  favorite  branch 
of  industry  with  the  Japanese  at  that  place.  The 
quaint,  narrow  streets  are  interesting,  and  many 
an  American  has  had  his  first  and  only  expe- 
rience in  jinricksha  riding  at  that  place. 

A  few  hours  out  from  Nagasaki,  the  steamer 
enters  the  celebrated  Inland  Sea,  at  certain  points 
so  narrow  that  a  biscuit  can  be  thrown  to  the 
shore  from  either  side.  The  whole  of  the  dis- 
tance through  the  Inland  Sea  is  interesting,  and 
the  scenery  varied,  until  one  arrives  at  Kobe, 
wdiere  a  stay  of  a  few  hours  is  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  on  cargo  and  passengers.  Kobe 
has  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  European 
town  in  Japan,  and  having  the  finest  buildings 
and  the  largest  business  houses ;  but  there  is  very 
little  of  interest  to  an  observer  only  there  for  a 
few  hours.  A  twenty-four  hours'  run  brought  the 
steamer  to  Yokohama,  her  last  stop  before  reach- 
ing Vancouver.    Yokohama  is  a  large,  fine  town, 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      259 

about  half  European  and  half  Japanese.  There 
is  a  large  English  colony,  a  number  of  Amer- 
ican residents,  and  there  is  even  a  Harvard  Club, 
of  which  Mr.  Knapp,  the  editor  of  the  "J^P^iiese 
Advertiser,"  is  the  president,  in  the  city.  If  the 
passenger  at  this  point  has  time  and  does  not 
care  much  about  looking  over  the  city  of  Yoko- 
hama itself,  he  will  do  well  to  take  the  train  to 
Tokio,  and  spend  a  few  hours  in  the  Japanese 
capital,  all  of  which  he  will  find  time  to  do  in 
the  twenty-four  hours  at  his  disposal. 

At  noon  on  the  following  day  the  clanging  of 
bells  on  board  warned  all  for  the  shore,  and  fif- 
teen minutes  later  the  ship  was  speeding  on  her 
long  journey,  homeward  bound,  with  no  possi- 
bility of  again  seeing  land  until  the  North  Amer- 
ican continent  was  reached.  Within  twelve  hours 
of  leaving  Yokohama,  there  was  no  more  warm 
weather,  and  overcoats  and  fires  were  the  or- 
der of  the  day,  a  very  welcome  change  to  those 
who  had  been  sweltering  under  a  tropical  sun. 
In  the  eleven  days  between  the  two  ports,  every 
effort  is  made  to  make  life  as  pleasant  as  pos- 
sible for  the  passengers.  There  is  an  excellent 
library  and  reading-room,  beautifully  lighted  and 
warmed,  which  is  supplied  with  chess,  checkers, 
backgammon,  dominoes  and  cribbage.  For  those 
who  prefer  a  more  energetic  form  of  amusement, 


260      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

there  are  quoits,  deck  cricket  and  deck  golf,  while 
the  smoking-room  generally  had  its  quota  of  pas- 
sengers playing  bridge  and  occasionally  a  few  in- 
dulging in  the  great  American  game  of  poker.  The 
food  on  board  the  "Empress  of  Japan,"  the  au- 
thor never  has  seen  surpassed,  and  he  has  trav- 
eled on  most  of  the  principal  lines,  to  different 
parts  of  the  globe. 

The  trip  is  so  pleasant  that,  much  as  one  desires 
to  arrive  at  home,  one  feels  almost  a  pang  of 
regret  on  arriving  at  Vancouver,  that  such  a 
pleasant  voyage  has  come  to  an  end.  At  Vic- 
toria, four  hours  distant  from  Vancouver,  there 
comes  on  board  an  agent  of  the  company,  who 
arranges  for  berths  in  a  sleeper  and  all  other 
facilities  that  passengers  may  desire.  The  author 
spent  two  days  in  Vancouver,  a  town  of  some 
thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  but  which,  until  IMay, 
1886,  was  a  forest,  prior  to  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  deciding  to  make  it  their  Western  ter- 
minal. A  few  years  ago,  a  writer  on  Vancouver 
in  one  of  the  magazines,  said: 

"Bright  Queen  of  the  West,  sunset  doorway 
of  the  Dominion,  the  vision  of  what  you  may  be 
— what  you  surely  will  be — sets  even  the  most 
conservative  pulse  at  thrill.  Those  mountain 
peaks  shall  some  day  look  down  upon  a  great 
city,  whose  streets  shall  be  filled  with  commerce. 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      261 

whose  warehouses  shall  be  stored  with  wealth, 
whose  harbors  shall  be  thronged  with  vessels 
discharging  the  products  of  nations.  All  the 
gold  of  the  Northlands,  the  scented  treasures 
of  the  Orient,  the  spices  of  the  Tropics,  shall  pass 
through  your  open,  lion-guarded  gateway ;  and 
the  time  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  vision  is  not 
far  removed." 

This  was  only  a  prophecy.  To-day  that 
prophecy  has  been  practically  fulfilled.  The  gold 
of  the  Northland  goes  through  there,  the  scented 
treasures  of  the  Orient  and  the  spices  of  the 
Tropics  all  pass  through  its  gates.  The  harbor 
is  one  of  the  grandest,  and  presents  great  op- 
portunities to  those  addicted  to  the  use  of  the 
rod  and  gun.  It  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  do 
himself  justice  if  he  travels  to  Vancouver  with- 
out visiting  the  great  salmon  fishing  industry, 
which  is  practically  the  world's  supply  of  canned 
salmon. 

Any  one  making  the  journey  from  Vancouver 
to  New  York,  either  via  Toronto  or  Montreal, 
should  certainly  stop  at  two  places  en  route,  and 
if  possible,  at  more.  The  Canadian  Rockies 
abound  with  the  most  beautiful  spots  in  the 
world,  with  a  scenery  that  is  overwhelming  in 
its  grandeur.  Laggan  should  at  all  events  be 
one  of  the  spots  at  which  the  traveler  should 


262      As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines. 

make  a  break  in  his  journey.  He  is  met  at 
the  station  by  sure-footed  ponies  and  taken  to 
the  lakes  in  the  clouds,  which  are  famed  all  over 
the  world  for  their  beauty.  The  lakes  are  hid- 
den from  view  among  the  most  romantic  environ- 
ments, and  their  loveliness  is  impossible  to  de- 
scribe. The  best  place  to  stop  is  the  hotel  at 
Lake  Louise,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  sta- 
tion, where  there  are  good  accommodations.  From 
there  one  can  ride  to  Mirror  Lake,  higher  up 
in  the  mountains,  and  by  going  up  still  a  little 
farther,  you  come  to  Lake  Agnes,  looking  down 
on  Bow  Valley  and  the  surrounding  country. 
Probably  the  finest  place  in  the  world  to  stop, 
where  most  assuredly  no  passenger  coming 
East  from  Vancouver  should  fail  to  get  off  and 
remain  a  few  days,  is  Banff.  With  an  altitude 
of  forty-five  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  a  hotel  unrivaled  for  beauty  and  posi- 
tion, and  a  management  unequalled  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent,  it  is  impossible  to  mention  Banff 
without  enthusiasm,  for  what  nature  has  left  un- 
done, which  is  very  little,  human  ingenuity  has 
accomplished.  The  hotel  itself  is  a  marvel  of 
grandeur,  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  certainly  has 
done  its  best  to  make  good  its  claim  that  it 
is  the  finest  hotel  in  the  world.  The  manager, 
Mr.  Matthews,  is  an  expert  in  looking  after  the 


As  It  Is  in  the  Philippines.      263 

care  of  guests,  and  the  service  and  food  is  un- 
excelled. It  has  a  warm  sulphur  swimming  bath, 
and  fishing  and  hunting,  both  of  big  and  small 
game,  is  within  easy  access,  guides  and  profes- 
sional hunters  being  obtainable. 

Continuing  on  the  journey,  then  coming  down 
the  Rockies  until  the  prairies  are  reached  one 
passes  a  continuous  change  of  scenery,  through 
the  wheat  fields,  corn  lands  and  other  produce 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  One  can  travel  di- 
rect to  Montreal  on  the  "Imperial  Limited," 
which  is  a  fast  train,  making  the  distance  from 
Vancouver  to  Montreal  in  a  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  hours.  A  night's  run  from  Montreal  to 
New  York  completes  the  long  journey. 


University  of  Caiifornia 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


DS 


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6^9   As  it  is  in  the 
B21a  Philippines 


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